It was only after Robert Redfield had suggested to George Gao that the Chinese CDC broaden its criteria that Gao revealed that the outbreak was probably out of control. Now, nearly two months later, the US CDC’s requirements seriously narrowed who could qualify to be tested in America.35 On March 1, the CDC’s official tally of COVID cases rose from fifteen to seventy-five. Models developed later by researchers at Northeastern University show that by this date, the US probably had 28,000 infections.
