From the first known patient in late January to now almost 100,000 infected, the United States has earned the unwanted distinction of leading the world in confirmed coronavirus cases. Public health experts say that while we’ve yet to hit the peak of the US epidemic, there are several reasons why the COVID-19 disease has exploded in America. Early on in the outbreak, President Donald Trump was accused of downplaying its severity, saying that sustained community spread was not “inevitable” even after a senior health official said it was, which could have led to a sense of complacency.
