2020-05-03 02:52:16uni2019

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 Health official says US missed some chances to slow coronavirus

The U.S. government was slow to understand how much coronavirus was spreading from Europe, which helped drive the acceleration of outbreaks across the nation, a top health official said Friday.

Limited testing and delayed travel alerts contributed to the jump in U.S. cases starting in late February, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, the No. 2 official at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We clearly didn't recognize the full importations that were happening," Schuchat told The Associated Press.

Schuchat noted that nearly 2 million travelers arrived in the U.S. from Italy and other European countries during February. The U.S. government didn't block travel from there until March 11.

"I think in retrospect, taking action earlier could have delayed further amplification (of the U.S. outbreak), or delayed the speed of it."