Tag: coronavirus crisis

Trump faces growing challenge to contain coronavirus

The Hill logoPresident Trump faces a growing challenge from the coronavirus as it spreads to more countries around the world.

The World Health Organization on Monday called the “sudden increase in cases” in Italy, Iran and South Korea “deeply concerning.” Some experts said that as outbreaks pop up on different continents, the virus is on the verge of becoming a global pandemic.

Financial markets worldwide tumbled Monday amid fears over the economic effect of the coronavirus, a worrying sign for Trump as he seeks reelection. Continue reading.

As health experts sound the alarm, Trump fights coronavirus with alternative facts

Washington Post logoPresident Trump’s governing strategy is on a collision course with a novel foe. Can alternative facts stop a pandemic?

Some of the nation’s leading public-health experts assembled before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday morning with some worrisome warnings: The dangerous Wuhan novel coronavirus is probably already in the United States in greater numbers than we know and should show itself in clusters in the coming weeks. There’s reason to doubt its spread will die down when the weather warms. And it could ultimately affect hundreds of thousands of Americans.

But Trump has never been one to embrace expert opinion, whether on climate change or on windmill cancer.

Trump Seeks To Cut Public Health Funding Amid Coronavirus Epidemic

Donald Trump’s new budget proposes cutting $3 billion from global health programs, despite his repeated vows to protect Americans from the deadly new virus outbreak.

According to Foreign Policy, Trump is specifically proposing a 50 percent reduction in funding for the World Health Organization, the main global body fighting to contain the coronavirus outbreak, which first began in China.

Such cuts “are entirely out of touch with the threats facing our nation,” Adm. James Stavridis and Gen. Tony Zinni, co-chairs of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s National Security Advisory Council, said in a statement Monday, after Trump’s proposal was released. Continue reading.