Yale Scientist: Reopening America Is ‘Awfully Close to Genocide’

A Yale University scientist argued in a social media post published on Wednesday that the United States government’s plan to reopen American after the Chinese virus pandemic amounts to “genocide” of “African-Americans, Latinos, other people of color.”

Yale epidemiologist Gregg Gonsalves criticized the U.S. government’s response to the Chinese virus pandemic and its plan to reopen the country in a tweet that was published on Wednesday, suggesting that it would be “genocide by default” to lift “shelter in place” restrictions. Gonsalves also suggested that the government’s response would disproportionately impact “people of color.”

How many people will die this summer, before Election Day? What proportion of the deaths will be among African-Americans, Latinos, other people of color? This is getting awfully close to genocide by default. What else do you call mass death by public policy? #COVID19 #coronavirus

— Gregg Gonsalves (@gregggonsalves) May 6, 2020

“How many people will die this summer, before Election Day? What proportion of the deaths will be among African-Americans, Latinos, other people of color?” Gonsalves wrote in the tweet. “This is getting awfully close to genocide by default. What else do you call mass death by public policy?”

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So, what does it mean to let thousands die by negligence, omission, failure to act, in a legal sense under international law? #COVID19 #coronavirus

— Gregg Gonsalves (@gregggonsalves) May 6, 2020

In another tweet, Gonsalves argued that government officials should face consequences for their response to the pandemic under international law. “So, what does it mean to let thousands die by negligence, omission, failure to act, in a legal sense under international law?” Gonsalves wrote in a follow-up tweet.

Gonsalves tweet was highlighted this week in a report by China’s state-run communist publication, the People’s Daily. “An epidemiologist at Yale University on Wednesday launched one of the harshest attacks on the U.S. administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying it was ‘close to genocide by default,’” the report read.

In a tweet on Thursday morning, Gonsalves said he was receiving criticism from the “right-wing mob-machine” for his comments on the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic.