Andrew Cuomo: Nobody ‘Blew the Bugle’ on Wuhan Outbreak in January, Including Me

Appearing recently on Axios on HBO, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) expressed disappointment over his failure to take the Chinese coronavirus outbreak more seriously in its earlier stages.

A transcript is as follows: 

JONATHAN SWAN: If you could go back and change two things that you did, personally, what would they be?

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO: When we heard in December that China had a virus problem and China said basically it was “under control, Don’t worry,” we should have worried. But, where was everyone? When China says “Don’t worry, I have a fire in my backyard,” you don’t hang up the phone and go back to sleep, right? You get out of your house and you walk two houses over to make sure I have the fire under control. Where was every other country walking out of their home to make sure China had it under control? That was December. January, February, where was everyone? Maybe the United States was waiting for the World Health Organization or the World Health Organization was waiting for the National Institute of Health, or somebody was waiting for the U.N. I don’t know, but I wish someone stood up and blew the bugle and If no one was going to blow the bugle, I would feel much better if I was a bugle blower last December and January, even though no one danced to the music, I would feel better sitting here today saying, “I blew the bugle about Wuhan province in January.” I can’t say that.