• U.S. Accuses Russia of Spreading Fear, Panic on Coronavirus

    The United States is accusing Russia of opening up its entire disinformation playbook to prey on growing fears about the spread of the coronavirus. Moscow’s effort, underway for weeks, according to officials, includes the use of state-run media outlets, fake news websites and “swarms” of fake online personas to churn out fabricated information in at least five languages. 

  • What Can the Black Death Tell Us about the Global Economic Consequences of a Pandemic?

    Concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus have translated into an economic slowdown. A look back at history can help us consider the economic effects of public health emergencies and how best to manage them. In doing so, however, it is important to remember that past pandemics were far more deadly than coronavirus, which has a relatively low death rate. By far the worst death rate in history was inflicted by the Black Death. Caused by several forms of plague, it lasted from 1348 to 1350, killing anywhere between 75 million and 200 million people worldwide and perhaps one half of the population of England. The economic consequences were also profound.

  • Four States Report More COVID-19 Cases; Silent Washington Spread Suspected

    Saturday night and so far yesterday, four states have reported more COVID-19 cases, including two more in Washington state, where a new gene finding is fueling concerns that the virus may have been circulating in the community for as long as 6 weeks. Also, Rhode Island reported its first case, California’s Santa Clara County reported another, and Illinois’ Cook County reported a presumed positive, raising the number of cases detected by the nation’s public health system to 27.

  • Trump Puts VP Pence in Charge of COVID-19 Response

    In a televised speech to the nation last night, President Donald Trump addressed the growing threat of COVID-19 and put Vice President Mike Pence in charge of a task force to lead US response efforts. The speech comes a day after officials from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said community spread was all but inevitable in the United States, while Trump said during a press conference in India that the situation was under control stateside. Trump also said that “We will essentially have a flu shot for this very soon,” said Trump, but experts cautioned that no vaccine will be ready for use for at least another year to 18 months.

  • Could Coronavirus Really Trigger a Recession?

    Fears are growing that the new coronavirus will infect the U.S. economy. The worry is understandable; viruses are scary things. The 1918-1919 influenza pandemic, also known as the Spanish flu, killed at least 50 million people worldwide, with some estimates putting the number as high as 100 million. In the U.S., almost 1 of every 3 people became infected, and 500,000 died. Even for those who survived, there were numerous cases of long-term physical disability. Fortunately, the adverse economic impacts were short-lived. With today’s more mobile and interconnected world, however, some suggest any large-scale pandemic would be much more severe, with costs in the trillions. Even if the death rates are relatively low, the economy can still suffer. These economic impacts would likely come in four forms: shortages of products from China, reduced sales to China, a drop in consumer spending based on fears about the virus and falling stock prices.

  • WHO Notes COVID-19 Pandemic Potential as 5 More Mideast Nations Affected

    Five more countries in the Middle East yesterday reported their first COVID-19 cases, all linked to Iran travel, signaling an escalating situation in the region in the wake of Iran’s outbreak, as World Health Organization (WHO) officials yesterday announced that, although the global situation isn’t yet a pandemic,  the world should prepare for one. Elsewhere, the pace of newly reported cases of the novel coronavirus continued to surge in South Korea and Italy, though cases are declining in China, where a WHO-led international joint mission wrapped up its visit and shared its initial findings yesterday.

  • U.S. Officials Link COVID-19 Disinformation Campaign to Russian Proxy Accounts

    Officials in the United States have said that thousands of Russia-linked social media accounts have launched a coordinated effort to spread alarm and misinformation about the COVID-19 crisis. State Department officials involved in countering Russian disinformation said on 22 February that fake accounts are being used on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and are operating in multiple languages.

  • Iran Notes More COVID-19 Cases as 2 from Diamond Princess Die

    Iran yesterday reported three more COVID-19 cases yesterday, as the number of new infections jumped in South Korea and in Japan, amid several new Diamond Princess developments, including the first two deaths and a US government agency clash over the evacuation of infected passengers. Meanwhile, China reported 394 new cases of the new coronavirus illness, a sharp drop that follows a case definition change that includes only lab-tested positives among the confirmed cases.

  • Mapping the Spread of Coronavirus

    Researchers are using mathematical models to better understand and predict the spread of COVID-19 and to quantify the effectiveness of various efforts to stop it. The goal of the “mathematical epidemiology” model is to help the public health community understand and anticipate the spread of the infection and evaluate the potential effectiveness of different approaches for bringing it under control.

  • China's COVID-19 Death Toll Tops 2,000; Iran Reports First Cases

    China’s death toll in its COVID-19 outbreak passed 2,000 today, as Iran reported its first two cases—both fatal—and the number of local cases grew in Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. Also, 79 more people from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan tested positive for the virus, with quarantine ending for many of those were not infected, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a travel watch for Hong Kong.

  • Coronavirus: We Need to Start Preparing for the Next Viral Outbreak Now

    The coronavirus outbreak is officially a crisis – let’s not waste it. Undeniably, the international community is taking the matter very seriously, as it should, given that the death total from the COVID-19 epidemic already well surpasses that from SARS in the early 2000s. However, even if the international response to COVID-19 has been relatively strong, it may rightfully be considered too little too late, with the epidemic already underway. That’s a mistake we shouldn’t repeat. As global health researchers, we study the full societal value of vaccination and other interventions to combat infectious disease. Given the tremendous costs associated with epidemics, it’s vital that we begin working to prevent the next outbreak, even as the world struggles to fight COVID-19.

  • Strengthening the U.S. System of Care for Infectious Diseases

    What does experience with past outbreaks suggest about the strengths and gaps of the current system of care for rare but serious infectious diseases? How might the current system be strengthened or more formalized to address those gaps? How could a more formalized system be financed, both in terms of initial investments and long-term sustainability? A study published by RAND in 2018 offers answers which relevant to the present.

  • Russia Knows Just Who to Blame for the Coronavirus: America

    The coronavirus outbreak has been accompanied by an avalanche of conspiracy theories about the outbreak. “But in Russia the misinformation has been particularly pointed. Russia’s spin doctors have capitalized on the fear and confusion of the epidemic to point the blame at the United States,” Amy McKinnong writers. McKinnon notes that the Russian messaging fits a now well-established pattern in that it doesn’t look to persuade audiences of a single alternative truth, because “That would take effort, planning, and persuasion.” Rather, Kremlin propaganda specialists produce “a steady stream of underdeveloped, sometimes contradictory conspiracy theories intended to exhaust and confuse viewers, making them question the very notion of objective truth itself.”

  • Deaths from Coronavirus disease – Newly Named COVID-19 -- top 1,000

    The disease caused by novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) now has a formal name, COVID-19, and deaths in China topped 1,000 as the United States confirmed its 13th case, which involves a Wuhan evacuee who is quarantined in California. In other developments, China reported 2,478 new illnesses amid a new report that more than 500 healthcare workers have been infected in its outbreak.

  • Study: To Slow an Epidemic, Focus on Handwashing

    A new study estimates that improving the rates of handwashing by travelers passing through just 10 of the world’s leading airports could significantly reduce the spread of many infectious diseases. And the greater the improvement in people’s handwashing habits at airports, the more dramatic the effect on slowing the disease, the researchers found.