As for blame, it's obvious that China lying and covering this up is why it's a pandemic and not just another local outbreak. It's also the reason the initial response was slow all over the world.
I think we can also blame the national stockpile of masks being depleted in 2009 and not being restocked on somebody.
If blaming someone for the unforeseen, makes you feel more righteous than someone else, then go for it. I see little gained by that.
China was very quick (January 2020) through the work of Dr. Edward Holmes, PhD, with the University of Sydney and Dr. Yong-Zhen Zhang, PhD, with University in Shanghai to publish to the world the genetic code of this virus. Considering the virus was only identified in November 2019, I at a loss to see the lies or the cover up.
This code will provide the information to allow the best antiviral researchers in the world to find the vaccine necessary to eradicate this disease.
If you really need to find blame, lay it upon cheap air travel and ultra long range airliners. Having been an airline pilot and understanding how pressurization and air conditioning systems work, I cannot envisage a more efficient petry dish for assuring efficient spread of the virus to all aboard.
