The US has failed to recognize the coronavirus threat fromEurope in time, Robert Redfield, Director of the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention (CDC), has said.
As per reports, since the country's COVID-19 pandemic brokeout, the US has reported over 4.4 million confirmed cases and over 150,000deaths.
"The introduction from Europe happened before werealized what was happening," Redfield said in an interview.
"By the time we realized (the) Europe threat and shutdown travel to Europe, there were probably already two or three weeks of 60,000people coming back every day from Europe," he said.
The US government closed off travel with China on February2, while flights with Europe were not cut off until March 13, by which time 26cases had been confirmed in New York City.
Samples of the earliest COVID-19 specimens in New York Cityresembled those circulating in Europe, according to a CDC report released inmid-July.
The US currently accounts for the world's highest number ofinfections and fatalities at 4,426,982 and 150,713, respectively, according to areport by the Johns Hopkins University.