An elderly patient is attended in one of the emergency structures that were set up to ease procedures outside the hospital of Brescia, Northern Italy, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)

The left and the media cry “racist” loudly and often at many things.

Even, as we see, with things like calling the coronavirus, “Wuhan virus,” “Chinese virus” or “Chinese coronavirus.”

The media seems more obsessed with that and stoking division than about the virus itself.

But that kind of an attitude and crazy P.C. can literally be deadly, as an Italian virologist is now indicating.

Dr. Giorgio Palù, the former president of the European and Italian Society for Virology and a professor of virology and microbiology of the University of Padova, is saying concerns about “politics” and being perceived ad racist led to the current devastating situation in Italy, which has now been on lockdown just over a week.

From CNN:

The lockdown should have been wider and stricter earlier, Palù believes, rather than just focusing on the 11 communities initially placed in the red zone, and it should be tighter now. “We should have done more diagnostic tests in Lombardy where there was a big nucleus. There is no sense in trying to go to the supermarket once a week. You have to limit your time out, isolation is the key thing.”

He says the Italian government lagged at first. It was “lazy in the beginning… too much politics in Italy.”
“There was a proposal to isolate people coming from the epicenter, coming from China,” he said. “Then it became seen as racist, but they were people coming from the outbreak.” That, he said, led to the current devastating situation.

Wow. They knew, but still they had no sense and it cost Italians their lives. Because “racist.”

We mentioned this before, that they even had the mayor of Florence, encouraging Italians to “hug a Chinese” to fight racism in early February before the cases exploded in Italy.

Italy was also notably not calling for, or practicing, social distancing

Feb. 4: "Mayor of Florence Dario Nardella has suggested residents hug Chinese people to encourage them in the fight against the novel coronavirus." pic.twitter.com/gVmYTnCmB4

— Elizabeth Harrington (@LizRNC) March 20, 2020

#coronavirus: seguiamo le indicazioni delle autorità sanitarie e usiamo cautela, ma nessun terrorismo psicologico e soprattutto basta con i soliti sciacalli che non vedevano l’ora di usare questa scusa per odiare e insultare. Uniti in questa battaglia comune! #AbbracciaUnCinese pic.twitter.com/pUdqEl0piW

— Dario Nardella (@DarioNardella) February 1, 2020

This was so patronizing—and stupid, @DarioNardella. https://t.co/ccoS0f4Hzn

— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) March 20, 2020

Notice CGTN and Global Times, two Chinese state media organs, so they were helping promote this idiocy.

The problem? A lot of people from the Wuhan area had a working relationship with the epicenter in Italy with daily flights back and forth which apparently were not cut off.

No, it’s not racist to restrict travel from any place that has such a viral outbreak be it China, Italy, or the rest of Europe to prevent further outbreaks. The fact that people even question that shows what a twisted place we are in and how ridiculous such things can become. You can preach love of your fellow man while also practicing common sense in the middle of a viral outbreak.

Italy has now allegedly passed China in number of deaths.

I don’t believe this. Maybe, just maybe, the Chinese communist govt is lying about its total numbers. Reporters naively parrot the numbers the CCP releases. I’d bet any reporter $100 that any serious investigation would show the death toll is MUCH higher. https://t.co/f1wY7muFRh

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 20, 2020

Now, we have every reason to doubt the honesty of the Chinese numbers, given they’ve lied right from the outset. But this is a devastation for Italy that didn’t need to be as bad if the politicians in charge had acted differently.