Letter: Unnecessary American Deaths

How can it be that the United States, as of Monday, had more new cases of covid-19 than the next seven countries (Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Iran, China, and the UK), despite having much more time to prepare (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries)? Why are we so far behind in providing personal protective equipment? Why did we finally hear only Friday, the advice to wear masks to reduce the spread of infection? The answer is obvious. Our president called COVID-19 a hoax, then told us all that everything was under control, refused for weeks to use his power to order production of ventilators, and only reluctantly suggested we wear masks (and then immediately undercut his own suggestion by saying that he would ignore it). The plain truth is that Trump’s foot dragging and denial will be responsible for tens of thousands of avoidable American deaths.