Pacific Island Times April 2020 Vol 4 No. 4 | Page 4

FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK C Retrieving squandered time Guam is a microcosm of global failure in leadership and collective complacence. Like the rest of the world, we thought we were in- vincible. We dismissed the epidemic in China as a dystopian fanta- sy, until the coronavirus began hopping borders. Even in the early stages of the epidem- ic, our local government and the busi- ness community saw Covid-19 merely as an inconvenience to tourism; they overlooked its looming threat to public health. Oddly, the medical community was left out of the planning process and preparations — if any. Earlier discus- sions focused on what Guam would do under different scenarios, which were painted based on the number of flight and booking cancellations, the number of people who would lose their jobs and the amount of revenue losses. While CNMI Gov. Ralph Torres was asking FAA for an authority to ban incoming flights from countries with Covid-19 epidemic, Guam leaders were 4 Mar-Vic Cagurangan [email protected] Contributing Writers Vince Akimoto Raquel Bagnol Bea Cabrera Phillip Cruz, Jr. Zaldy Dandan Jayne Flores Ken Leon Guerrero Theodore Lewis Diana Mendoza Johanna Salinas Alex Rhowuniong Jay Shedd Jeffrey Voacolo hina bought the West time. The West squandered it,” reads the self-explanatory title of an opinion piece written by Pulitzer-Prize winning author Ian Johnson published by The New York Times. The West ignored the memo. While China was enforcing social distanc- ing, checking temperatures at airports, offering free medical care and arresting anyone suspected of being infected, so many countries nonchalantly watched what was unfolding in China for weeks “as though it was none of their concern,” Johnson wrote. “Some governments have dithered for lack of political will. Some seem to fall prey, still, to a percep- tion of China as the eternal ‘other,’ whose experience couldn’t possibly be rele- vant to us, much less pro- vide any lessons — other than in what not to do.” Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Even in the early stages of the epidemic, our local government and the business community saw Covid-19 merely as an inconvenience to tourism; they overlooked its looming threat to public health. asking the feds for money. While other neighboring islands in the Pacific region began closing their borders, our own governor was inviting more travelers to come to Guam. “We’re ready for busi- ness,” she said in her state of the island address. Then the unwanted traveler snuck into Guam. This seems like a lifetime ago. The situation has since evolved, and still does as fast as the virus spreads. Guam’s transmission rate is 33 percent, which Governor Leon Guerrero said would have been 200 percent had we not kept 6 feet away from each other. We have come to this: measuring our success against our failure. The Covid-19 crisis is threatening to break our fragile health care systems as we make do with ad hoc solutions. Visual Editor Mar-Vic Cagurangan Sales and Marketing Executive Jan SN Furukawa [email protected] Account Executive Anna Marie Alegre [email protected] Administrative Assistant Ricky Panelo *** Pacific Independent News Service LLC Tumon Sands Plaza 1082 Pale San Vitores Rd. Tumon Guam 96931 Telephone: [phone] Email: [email protected] Website: www.pacificislandtimes.com The Pacific Island Times is published monthly and circulated in Guam and Palau by the Pacific Independent News Service LLC. Editorial and advertising submissions become property of the Pacific Island Times and cannot be lifted without consent of the publisher. Views and opinions from contributors do not necessarily represent the editorial position of the Pacific Island Times.