In The News

COVID-19 Frontlines in Italy: Politico

Greta Privitera March 11, 2020
COVID-19 spreads quickly, and confirmed cases grow exponentially in countries that test and release results in transparent ways. An article for Politico suggests that Italy’s doctors struggle against an onslaught of cases – an assessment that neglects the greater number of nurses and other health care workers who are truly on the frontlines: “hospitals are scrambling to increase the number of...

WHO Declares COVID-19 Pandemic: Voice of America

March 11, 2020
COVID-19 is now officially a global pandemic. The World Health Organization had resisted the declaration to avoid panics or notions that prevention is useless. “All countries can still change the course of this pandemic,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He pointed out that “Some countries struggle with a lack of capacity. Some countries are struggling with a lack of...

COVID-19 Travels 4 Meters? SCMP

Stephen Chen March 11, 2020
China has identified more than 80,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, almost three times more than the rest of the world. The high numbers permit research that aids understanding the disease's spread. Officials advise keeping a safe distance up to 2 meters meter or 6 feet. Yet researchers tracked infections during a January 22 bus trip and suggest a bus passenger with symptoms infected travelers...

Russia vs Saudi Arabia: Reuters

Davide Barbuscia and Darya Korsunskaya March 10, 2020
OPEC nations failed to reach agreement with a group of non-OPEC nations led by Russia to limit oil production and, in defiance, Saudi Arabia approved opening the pumps for full production, forcing prices to plummet. Stock prices of major oil companies also fall. Saudi Arabia and Russia have large financial cushions, but other countries and oil companies with debt could struggle. “The world’s top...

Boost Immune System to Avoid COVID-19: Guardian

Amy Fleming March 10, 2020
People wash hands and keep a distance from others with COVID-19 symptoms. Improved eating and other habits can strengthen immune systems, including mucus and microbes that protect against germs, suggests researchers. To strengthen gut microbiomes, one professor of immunology suggests eating “a more varied diet with lots of high-fiber foods” and fermented foods like sauerkraut, yogurt and kimchi...

Governments Clamp Down: New York Times

March 9, 2020
The world has more than 110,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nations impose more restrictions to contain the spread, which also slows spending and hurts businesses. “Italy began one of the largest-ever attempts to restrict the movement of people in a Western democracy, with a lockdown of the country’s northern region affecting about 16 million people and fueling questions about whether...

China Everywhere: Times of India

Nayan Chanda March 9, 2020
COVID-19 has fueled a slowdown in travel, trade, economic growth and globalization yet globalization is far from dead, suggests Nayan Chanda, founding editor of YaleGlobal Online. “[A]mid all the recent sound and fury against globalisation, the global economy itself has grown ever more enmeshed.” Chanda warns of challenges in delinking and adjusting globalization’s many ties. China’s share of...