We had no government warnings in the middle of February so perhaps the Asian community was feeling attacked? Someone in the government knew the real danger but most were never warned

A month later a Republican Congressman was actively downplaying the advice of the CDC.

March 15

“Representative Devin Nunes, a California Republican, on Sunday encouraged healthy people to dine out at restaurants, contradicting public health advisories that strongly encouraged social distancing and discouraged Americans from attending mass gatherings.“