The Last Week Tonight host looked at the spread of the virus, the risk of Trump misinformation, and how concerned we should be

On Last Week Tonight, John Oliver delved into the background, risk, and misinformation surrounding the coronavirus, also known as Covid-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said last week that a coronavirus outbreak in the US is not a matter of if, but when, “which is just not a comforting thing to hear about the spread of something deadly,” said Oliver. “It’s only comforting if you’re talking about whether Saoirse Ronan will win an Oscar or whether Henry Kissinger will ever die.”

There are now several confirmed coronavirus cases in the US and the stock market had its biggest dip in a decade, prompting some to take precautions ranging from stockpiling food to considering gargling bleach as an anti-septic. At least one method had merit – “you are unlikely to get the coronavirus if you regularly gargle bleach, because you know what they say: being dead is already the best medicine,” said Oliver.

Preliminary estimates put the mortality rate of Covid-19 at about 2%, which is about 20 times worse than the seasonal flu. The vast majority of cases, around 80%, present only mild symptoms, but that means many people spread the disease without realizing it. One expert in the Atlantic predicted that 40-70% of the world’s population will get coronavirus in the next year, “which is incredibly upsetting,” said Oliver, “because there’s only one infectious disease that two-thirds of the world should be getting right now, and that’s Adam Driver fever.”

The first Covid-19 cases appeared at the end of last year in Wuhan, China; the government punished or dismissed those raising the alarm, then responded swiftly, putting the province’s 50m people on lockdown with quarantine instructions blasted from speakers placed on street corners. “A talking box that tells you you can’t leave your house feels pretty dystopian,” said Oliver, though “to be honest, I much prefer our dystopia, where a talking box [Alexa] listens to all our conversations, and then tells Jeff Bezos when I’ll need underwear next. It’s such a convenient way to give up everything.”

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Anyways, since the Wuhan outbreak, Covid-19 has spread to 60 other countries, and governments have responded to the threat with varying levels of success. Vietnam released a PSA on hand-washing which “absolutely slaps – that’s a genuine club banger right there,” said Oliver, and became a viral TikTok dance challenge. Japan botched the quarantine of the Diamond Princess cruise ship. Iran’s health minister offered reassurances while feverishly sweating through his own coronavirus infection.

Widespread international skepticism of government responses, particularly in Iran, underscores our vulnerability to pandemic, said Oliver, since “trust in institutions is critical when trying to contain a possible pandemic.” Which doesn’t bode well for the United States – the same day the CDC declared coronavirus in the US not a matter of if, but when, one of Trump’s top advisors went on CNBC declaring “we have contained this, I won’t say airtight but pretty close to airtight.”

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“Well which is it?!” asked Oliver. “Because airtight versus close to airtight is a pretty crucial distinction. It’s the difference between having a working submarine and a cool metal tube to die in.”

Trump also named Mike Pence as head of the response force to coronavirus, since he “has certain talent for this.” “Does he?” asked Oliver. “Because I was under the impression the only things Pence has a certain talent for were avoiding off-leash women, sucking up to people who represent the antithesis of everything he claims to believe in, and miserably failing at pulling off a haircut known as ‘The Judi Dench.’”

Overall, Trump has seemed vastly more concerned with downplaying anything that could be considered bad news, even overriding health experts in live briefings. But with a public health crisis, “you can’t just ignore real numbers and make up ones you like better,” said Oliver. “This is the problem with a president whose entire life has been a series of low-stakes lies. A man who has lied about, among other things his net worth, his Apprentice ratings, the number of floors in Trump Tower, the size of his electoral college victory, the attendance at his rallies, whether it rained at his inaugural, and even whether or not he was invited on this very boring and low-rated show – which he wasn’t! It was a lie. But there’s a difference between lying about something that means literally nothing and lying about the spread of a deadly disease.”

Trump’s favorite channel, Fox News, has also amplified false information and baseless, sometimes racist claims – one commentator began a segment asking “what do we do about China?’ and ended by decrying travel between “that country and the civilized world”.

“That escalated quickly,” said Oliver of the commentator. “Truly, that man is the Usain Bolt of racism – a comparison I’m certain he absolutely hates.”

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As of now, there is no treatment for the virus, and a vaccine could take a year or more to develop, so “you may be wondering: how scared should you be?” said Oliver. “And the answer is, probably, a bit.”

Oliver said he didn’t want to be alarmist but also didn’t want to minimize the threat – “it’s really about trying to strike a sensible balance. Basically, if you’re drinking bleach to protect yourself right now, you should probably calm the fuck down. If you’re, say, licking subway poles because you’re certain nothing can hurt you, maybe don’t do that. You want to stay somewhere between those extremes. Don’t be complacent, and don’t be a fucking idiot.”

And until experts advise that the risk is over, Oliver concluded, we should all follows some basic advice: “First, don’t be racist – that’s just good general advice for now and for later.” Don’t hoard masks, and check the CDC website for future updates. “And finally – and this is more important than it might sound – wash your hands regularly.” If you need a reminder, there’s now footage of Oliver doing the Vietnamese hand-washing song TikTok dance challenge.