The coronavirus scare began after impeachment.
The Trump administration restricted travel from China the day after the WHO declaration, on January 31, 2020. By then, 213 people had died and more than 9,800 people had been infected worldwide. The virus has continued to spread rapidly across the world in the weeks since, with more than 125,000 cases reported worldwide, including more than 4,600 deaths, according to the WHO. The WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020., The seriousness of the outbreak has not stopped those on social media coming up with their own theories. On the same day the WHO declared a pandemic, Facebook user "Upset Californian Conservative" published a post (archived here) on March 11, 2020, beginning with "Who else agrees?" It then said:, The claim is false.The facts are clear: The outbreak began before Trump was acquitted by the U.S. Senate on two articles - abuse of power and obstruction of Congress - in early February. The virus also does not distinguish between countries, as is clear from the global scale of the pandemic that started in Wuhan, China. And Trump himself was set to announce a national emergency, according to Bloomberg News., The "Upset Californian Conservative" user who posted the message has more than 30,000 followers. According to a pinned post, the page was created in March 2018 "by an incredibly UPSET and frustrated CALIFORNIAN CONSERVATIVE. It is a constitutional right to speak freely on fb or "any" other platform.", The political sentiment of the "fix is in for Trump" is gaining traction among many Republicans or other Trump supporters, partly fueled by Trump himself. As recently as Monday, March 9, of this week, the president slammed the "Fake News Media" for inflaming the coronavirus situation., The Fake News Media and their partner, the Democrat Party, is doing everything within its semi-considerable power (it used to be greater!) to inflame the CoronaVirus situation, far beyond what the facts would warrant. Surgeon General, "The risk is low to the average American.", , A day later, the WHO issued a tweet of its own warning that "misinformation and rumors" can spread much more quickly than the virus., "Whenever theres an outbreak of a disease, misinformation and rumours can spread faster than the virus itself and it can be just as dangerous.Make sure you always #KnowTheFacts to protect yourself and your loved ones from #COVID19. #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/1xR5iYEK6Z", , On Friday, March 13, 2020, the New York Times published an exclusive under the headline "The Worst-Case Estimate for U.S. Coronavirus Deaths" that said officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and epidemic experts from universities around the world met last month to discuss what might happen if the coronavirus took hold in the United States. The story noted the serious concern health officials had over the growing outbreak:, Between 160 million and 214 million people in the U.S. could be infected over the course of the epidemic, according to one projection. That could last months or even over a year, with infections concentrated in shorter periods, staggered across time in different communities, experts said. As many as 200,000 to 1.7 million people could die., As of this writing, nearly 1,700 cases have been reported in the United States with 41 deaths, according to the CDC. Shortages of test kits have been reported across the nation - a problem the federal government\s top infectious-disease doctor called a "failing" in testimony before Congress., "The system is not really geared to what we need right now. That is a failing. It is a failing. Let\s admit it." - Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, See who is sharing it (it might even be your friends...) and leave the link in the comments.:, Lead Stories is working with the CoronaVirusFacts/DatosCoronaVirus Alliance, a coalition of more than 100 fact-checkers who are fighting misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more about the alliance here., Wayne Drash, a staff writer and fact-checker for Lead Stories, is a former senior producer and writer for CNN’s Health team, telling narratives about life and the unfolding drama of the world we live on. He specialized in covering complex major issues, such as health insurance, the opioid epidemic and Big Pharma., , Note: if reading this fact check makes you want to contact us to complain about bias, please check out our Red feed first., Lead Stories is a fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, deceptive or\n      inaccurate stories (or media) making the rounds on the internet.\n      \n      Spotted something? Let us know!., Lead Stories is a fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, deceptive or\n        inaccurate stories (or media) making the rounds on the internet.\n        \n        Spotted something? Let us know!.
Fact Check: The Coronavirus Scare Did NOT Start Immediately After Impeachment | Lead Stories