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US Vice President Mike Pence and the US coronavirus task force pray at the White House on Feb. 26. (provided by the White House)

Both US and S. Korean politicians are bickering amid the coronavirus outbreak ahead of this year’s elections

“We ran out of hand sanitizer today, and we’ve been out of masks for quite some time,” the salesclerk told me. I’d driven to this store in a small town about two hours away from Washington a few days ago, thinking they might still have some supplies. After that, I went around to two more stores in the area, where I managed to pick up a few packs of hand sanitizer — they were off-brand, but felt like a treasure to me. The shelf had nearly been swept clean.

The outbreak of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, is having a major impact on the lives of Americans, though the situation there hasn’t reached the severity of South Korea’s. Since the first COVID-19 fatality was reported in the US, crowds have descended on stores to stock up on essential goods. Koreans are suffering daily indignities: cough once, and Americans in the vicinity will scamper off or whisper that you have the coronavirus. Schools are sending parents regular guidance about the coronavirus, and many people are seriously thinking about canceling trips planned for the spring semester, even when the tickets aren’t refundable.

The American government has also sprung into action. Vice President Mike Pence has been briefing reporters following daily task force meetings at the White House. As the number of confirmed cases and deaths increases, the US has been beefing up its measures by prohibiting travel to certain regions overseas, mandating medical exams for travelers inbound from South Korea and Italy, and expanding COVID-19 testing inside the US.

It just so happens that the COVID-19 outbreak coincides with major elections in both South Korea and the US: South Korea has parliamentary elections in April, and the US presidential election is scheduled for November. Both countries are witnessing political bickering about the government’s steps to combat the disease.

Facing criticism over the US’ lack of resources to carry out COVID-19 testing, Trump has shifted the blame to the previous administration, claiming that the Obama administration made harmful decisions about testing. The American press pointed out that no measures were taken to restrict testing under the Obama administration. Trump continues to be questioned for his decision to appoint Pence — a political loyalist, rather than a disease expert — to head the COVID-19 task force. There are suspicions that Trump is trying to manage the messaging by public health authorities, fearing that too much honesty could create a public panic and drive stock prices down. Trump is also pushing for vaccine development to be sped up, saying he likes the idea of a few months, rather than the year or more that most experts say it will take.

Trump’s supporters have also been cooking up conspiracy theories. After Nancy Messonnier, a senior official at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned that it’s only a matter of time before COVID-19 spreads in American communities, some drew attention to the fact that she’s the sister of Rod Rosenstein, the former deputy attorney general who had a poor relationship with Trump. Such unhelpful theories drag politics into a public health crisis and impede efforts to find a solution.

In South Korea, some people are still blaming the government for making the situation worse by not enacting an entry ban on travelers from China at the beginning of the outbreak. Koreans in Washington are currently nervous that Trump, who has described South Korea as a COVID-19 “hot spot,” may impose an entry ban, and South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its embassy in Washington are fighting desperately to keep that from happening. If the US does close the door to South Koreans, will the people who mockingly refer to “Chinese President Moon Jae-in” praise Trump for taking the necessary measures? Or will they blame the South Korean government for failing to prevent a situation that would deliver another blow to the South Korean economy and tarnish its national prestige?

“It’s really, really tough because you have to be honest with the American public and you don’t want to scare the hell out of them,” said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in an interview with Politico. Fauci has managed disease outbreaks under six presidents.

Avoiding overreaction, calming anxiety, maintaining safety, and saving lives — that’s the task facing the entire world. Even when elections are imminent, we need to look before we leap.

By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]