Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro claimed on Sunday that the U.S. is currently “in chaos” and has “no measures in place” to control its Chinese coronavirus epidemic, after eliminating all coronavirus precautions in his own country for at least a month.
Maduro issued his diatribe during a government meeting on health care broadcast by Venezuela’s state-run news channel VTV Canal 8.
“In the United States, as Dr. [Anthony] Fauci, the U.S. expert on viral infections and diseases, says: It is chaos,” Maduro claimed of the current coronavirus situation in the U.S.
“There are no preventive measures in place. None. Not a single measure. There is no preventive discourse. There is no care of the population. It is chaos. Every man for himself,” the socialist leader said.
“And it is very dangerous because it has been multiplying,” Maduro added.
Maduro did not cite any source for the alleged comment by Fauci, the head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
The Venezuelan leader said that “instead of controlling the virus,” the U.S. government has merely responded to each “wave” of coronavirus as it hits the country.
“First wave, second wave, and the third wave is already entering,” he claimed, adding that the alleged “British strain” of the coronavirus, “which is more contagious,” already arrived in the U.S. “And also in Europe. Europe, well, it has not been able to control [the spread of coronavirus]. Since the summer holidays, they have been unable to regain control [over the virus].”
While Maduro criticized the U.S. and other Western nations’ handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the West has, in fact, led the global effort to develop, approve, and begin administering coronavirus vaccines. The United Kingdom on December 3 became the first Western nation to approve a Chinese coronavirus vaccine for emergency use, followed shortly afterward by the U.S. on December 11.
Maduro at Sunday’s meeting urged Venezuelans to comply with “seven days of radical quarantine” that he said the federal government mandated from January 4-10 as part of a “necessary” effort to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country. The week-long quarantine is part of Maduro’s “7 +7” plan, which requires Venezuelans to adhere to strict lockdown measures for seven days, followed by seven days of relaxed restrictions that allow citizens to resume their normal activities to a limited degree. The jarring plan forces Venezuelans in and out of strict quarantine life and its efficacy in reducing coronavirus transmission has yet to be proven by the government.
Venezuela’s government officially reported 114,230 cases and 1,034 deaths from the Chinese coronavirus at press time on Monday, although Maduro has been accused of lying about the nation’s true coronavirus caseload throughout the pandemic. Venezuelan firm Meganálisis in late October released a poll revealing that 87 percent of Venezuelans living with coronavirus patients said the infected persons did not receive PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests to confirm their diagnosis, meaning their infections were not officially counted by the government.
A PCR test is a molecular test that can detect specific genetic material from the Chinese coronavirus in a person’s body. It is currently considered one of the most accurate tests to diagnose a Chinese coronavirus infection.