Standard Chartered boss says US and UK ‘too late’ with coronavirus lockdowns
Standard Chartered boss Bill Winters today criticised the response of authorities in the UK and US to the coronavirus pandemic.
Winters said the US and UK had acted “too late” with their measures to contain the virus.
“I find it interesting to listen to the debate now that we in the West, or in the UK, or in the US, couldn’t have done what the Chinese did because we don’t have that kind of society,” Winters said on Bloomberg TV. “Well, we are doing what the Chinese did; we’re just doing it too late.”
Coronavirus infections and deaths in the US have already passed those in China, according to official figures.
In the UK there is increasing criticism of the government’s slow rollout of testing, particularly to NHS staff on the frontline.
The UK today said that total coronavirus deaths were close to 3,000 with more than 33,000 confirmed cases.
Globally there are almost 1m confirmed cases with the US and Europe now the hotbed for new infections.
Standard Chartered makes most of its money in Asia and Winters said he expected to see a rebound as the region began a tentative return to normality..
“I think the Asian health authorities, certainly in China, Hong Kong and Singapore, have demonstrated what early and hard intervention can do in terms of slowing the spread of this disease,” he said.