Tag: coronavirus

Right-Wing Media Claim CDC Hypes Coronavirus To Harm Trump

Dr. Nancy Messonnier is the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Her impressive bio lists a number of top positions that she has held in the CDC, and it also notes that she has received multiple awards.

In recent days, Messonnier has taken a leading role in warning the public about the threat that the novel coronavirus strain known as COVID-19 poses to the United States. The Wall Street Journal noted that Messonnier said it was just a question of when coronavirus will circulate in the U.S. The Daily Beast quoted her as saying, “We expect to see more cases of person-to-person spread among close contacts. … The goal here is to slow entry of this virus into the United States.” CNBC quoted her calling for schools to divide students into smaller groups or to close entirely and conduct courses online. Many other outlets have quoted her as well.

But right-wing media have begun to coalesce around a conspiracy theory that Messonnier’s warning should be disregarded because she is the sister of former Trump appointee Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein was a frequent target of pro-Trump propagandists for appointing Robert Mueller as a special counsel in the Russia investigation. Continue reading.

Could coronavirus really trigger a recession?

Fears are growing that the new coronavirus will infect the U.S. economy.

A major U.S. stock market index posted its biggest two-day dropon record, erasing all the gains from the previous two months; companies including Apple and Walmart have been warning of potential sales losses from COVID-19 and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Americans to prepare for the outbreak to spread to the United States, with unknown but potentially “bad” consequences.

Lately, many people have asked me, as an economist, a question I haven’t heard in years: Could a virus really send the global and U.S. economies into recession – or worse? Put more pertinently, will COVID-19 trigger an economic meltdown? Continue reading.

How Trump’s response to coronavirus matches up with what experts say government should do

Washington Post logoThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that the spread of the novel coronavirus within the United States is “inevitable.” On Wednesday evening, amid criticism from Congress and 2020 Democratic candidates, as well as alarm among some conservatives, President Trump held a news conference to try to assure Americans this virus wasn’t amounting to much and that the government is doing all it can to stop its spread.

So what are the steps the government can take, and why are there bipartisan concerns that the Trump administration is ill-prepared to protect us? Let’s walk through this.

What the government should do, in three steps, according to health officials

Step 1: Figure out who is infected and where they are. We don’t have a complete picture right now, but developing a quick test that can be performed at the doctor’s office for anyone who comes in sick should be the top priority for health officials, said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University who specializes in pandemics. From there, every other decision will flow. Continue reading.

U.S. postpones military exercises with South Korea in nod toward North Korea

Defense Secretary Mark Esper says it is part of “a good-faith effort” to lessen tensions.

BANGKOK — U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Sunday the United States and South Korea have indefinitely postponed a joint military exercise in an “act of goodwill” toward North Korea.

The move comes even as Japan’s defense minister, whose country feels threatened by repeated North Korean missile launches, told Esper “no one could be optimistic about” changing the North’s behavior.

The statement by Japan’s defense chief, Taro Kono, was a stark illustration of the difficulties facing the U.S. and its international allies and partners as they struggle to get North Korea back to negotiations to eliminate its nuclear weapons and missiles. Talks launched by President Donald Trump in 2018 have stalled with no resumption in sight. Continue reading.

Trump Has a Problem as the Coronavirus Threatens the U.S.: His Credibility

New York Times logoEven his allies worry that President Trump has undermined his ability to appear presidential in a moment of national emergency.

For years, experts have warned that Mr. Trump has been squandering the credibility he could need in a moment of national emergency, like a terrorist attack or a public health crisis.

Now, as the coronavirus races across the globe and has begun to threaten the United States, Mr. Trump could face a moment of reckoning. Maintaining a calm and orderly response during an epidemic, in which countless lives could be at stake, requires that the president be a reliable public messenger. Continue reading.

Live updates: Fears grow of a coronavirus pandemic as markets stumble again; Japan shuts schools

Washington Post logoU.S. markets fell sharply Thursday after the first coronavirus case in the United States that could not be linked to foreign travel was confirmed.

The state of California is calling the case, first reported by The Washington Post, its first instance of community transmission. The hospital is monitoring the health of scores of staff members who may have come in contact with the patient.

The rapid spread of the novel coronavirus also raised the specter of a global pandemic as governments ramped up their emergency responses and international financial markets slumped again Thursday, despite signs that the outbreak may be easing in China. Continue reading.

Brazil confirms first coronavirus case in Latin America

Axios logoBrazil’s health ministry confirmed the first novel coronavirus case in Latin America Wednesday — a 61-year-old that tested positive after returning from a visit to northern Italy, the epicenter of Europe’s outbreak.

Why it matters: The case comes in the midst of Carnival, a peak time for domestic travel that draws millions of revelers in major cities. Brazil is tracking 20 suspected cases of the virus in the country, according to health officials. View the post here.

Republican senators confront Trump administration officials as stock market drops 1,900 points in two days

AlterNet logoSenators from both parties slammed the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus amid dire warnings from health officials.

The Senate was briefed by Trump administration officials after Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the administration was “asleep at the wheel” as the country faces a “pandemic.”

Senators apparently did not get the answers they were looking for. Continue reading.

Trump rips coronavirus coverage, to hold news conference

The Hill logoPresident Trump said in an early morning tweet on Wednesday that he will hold a news conference at 6 p.m. to address his administration’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.

In the post, he continued to blame the media and Democrats for overstating the danger of the disease, even as health experts have warned of its spread.

Trump accused MSNBC and CNN of “doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible.”  Continue reading.

White House struggles to contain public alarm over coronavirus

Washington Post logoTop White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told The Washington Post late Monday that investors should consider “buying these dips” in the stock market amid the coronavirus panic. The message was to take advantage of one-day slumps and “buy low.”

After all, the Dow Jones industrial average had just fallen 1,032 points. President Trump tweeted similar guidance thousands of miles away in India.

Less than 24 hours later, the Dow Jones industrial average would fall another 879 points, bringing Trump and Kudlow’s investment advice — at least in the short term — under greater scrutiny. Continue reading.