NPR: 1 Million Coronavirus Cases Have Now Been Reported Worldwide
“Countries around the world have now reported more than 1 million coronavirus cases, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grow. The respiratory disease has killed more than 51,000 people and is found in at least 181 countries and regions. The updated numbers come from a coronavirus dashboard created by Johns Hopkins University’s Whiting School of Engineering, which tracks the data in near real time…” (Chappell, 4/2).

Science: ‘These are answers we need.’ WHO plans global study to discover true extent of coronavirus infections
“In an effort to understand how many people have been infected with the new coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) is planning a coordinated study to test blood samples for the presence of antibodies to the virus. Called Solidarity II, the program, which will involve more than half a dozen countries around the globe, will launch in the coming days, says Maria Van Kerkhove, who is helping coordinate WHO’s COVID-19 response…” (Vogel, 4/2).

Additional coverage of COVID-19 cases worldwide and the WHO study is available from Bloomberg (2), CIDRAP News, The Hill, and Reuters.

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Reuters: World Bank approves initial $1.9 bln in emergency coronavirus funds
“The World Bank on Thursday said it had approved an initial $1.9 billion in emergency funds for coronavirus response operations in 25 developing countries, with more than half the aid earmarked to help fight the fast-spreading disease in India. … In addition, the bank said it was working to redeploy resources in existing World Bank financed projects worth up to $1.7 billion. The bank has said it is prepared to spend up to $160 billion over the next 15 months to combat the pandemic…” (Shalal/Psaledakis, 4/2).

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AFRICA

CNBC Africa: COVID-19 — “Enormous gap” in ventilators for Africa — the worry is no one is sure how big (Bishop, 4/2).

The Guardian: ‘If it comes, it will overwhelm us’: Malawi braces for coronavirus (Vidal, 4/3).

PRI: As coronavirus spreads, poor communities in Kenya are left vulnerable (Gikandi, 4/2).

Quartz: South Africa’s leadership in HIV research is galvanizing to tackle coronavirus and develop tests (Wild, 4/2).

Reuters: Medical aid marooned as Africa shuts borders amid coronavirus pandemic (McAllister et al., 4/3).

Reuters: African governments team up with tech giants to fight coronavirus lies (Akwagyiram et al., 4/2).

Reuters: U.N. agency keeps Africa food aid flowing amid coronavirus (Dzirutwe et al., 4/2).

U.N. News: Burkina Faso crisis and COVID-19 concerns highlight pressure on Sahel food security (4/2).

ASIA

Foreign Policy: Is China Underreporting Its Coronavirus Figures? (Quinn, 4/2).

NPR: Researchers Fear A 2nd Wave Of COVID-19 In China (Beaubien, 4/3).

Reuters: ‘Shoot them dead’ — Philippine leader says won’t tolerate lockdown violators (Perry, 4/1).

U.N. News: India: Migrant workers’ plight prompts U.N. call for ‘domestic solidarity’ in coronavirus battle (4/2).

Washington Post: India confronts its first coronavirus ‘super-spreader’ — a Muslim missionary group with more than 400 members infected (Slater et al., 4/2).

EUROPE

AP: What virus? Belarus rejects strict measures against pandemic (Karmanau, 4/2).

Financial Times: One in 15 people in London may already be infected with coronavirus (Sheppard/Mancini, 4/2).

The Hill: Putin tells Russians to stay home all month amid coronavirus threat (Budryk, 4/2).

U.N. News: COVID-19: from conflict to pandemic, migrants in Bosnia face a new challenge (4/3).

U.N. News: ‘Everyone at risk’ as coronavirus cases tick up among migrants and refugees sheltering in Greece (4/2).

Washington Post: Italy and Spain see ‘first positive signs’ in coronavirus crisis, ambassadors say (DeYoung, 4/2).

LATIN AMERICA

AP: In Ecuador, families wait with their dead as bodies pile up (Armario/Solano, 4/2).

NPR: Ecuador’s COVID-19 Outbreak Is One Of South America’s Biggest (Otis, 4/3).

U.N. News: ‘Working round the clock’ to aid Venezuelan refugees and migrants during COVID-19 pandemic: U.N. agencies (4/1).

MIDDLE EAST

Reuters: Exclusive: Hackers linked to Iran target WHO staff emails during coronavirus — sources (Menn et al., 4/2).

Reuters: Elections, ties with China shaped Iran’s coronavirus response (4/2).

NORTH AMERICA

Reuters: Canada faces ‘critical week’ in coronavirus crisis, death toll jumps (Ljunggren et al., 4/2).

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AP: More evidence indicates healthy people can spread virus
“Scientists offered more evidence Wednesday that the coronavirus is spread by seemingly healthy people who show no clear symptoms, and the federal government issued new guidance warning that anyone exposed to the disease can be considered a carrier. A study by researchers in Singapore became the latest to estimate that somewhere around 10% of new infections may be sparked by people who carry the virus but have not yet suffered its flu-like symptoms…” (Stobbe, 4/1).

The Guardian: WHO considers changing guidance on wearing face masks
“The World Health Organization (WHO) is considering changing its guidance on whether people should wear face masks in public, prompted by new evidence that suggests doing so could help contain the pandemic. The WHO, and the U.K. government, currently advise that face masks do not play a major role in protecting people from infection outside healthcare settings. But there are growing calls for this stance to be reviewed, with suggestions that the widespread use of face masks may have played a role in containing outbreaks in some Asian countries…” (Devlin/Campbell, 4/1).

Washington Post: White House expected to urge Americans to wear face coverings in public to slow spread of coronavirus
“The White House is poised to urge Americans to wear cloth masks or face coverings in public to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, in a reversal of earlier advice. … White House coronavirus task force officials have been considering whether to recommend that face coverings be routinely worn in public because of increasing evidence that infected people without symptoms can spread the virus, according to internal memos and new guidance provided to the White House by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…” (Sun/Dawsey, 4/2).

Additional coverage of the use of masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus and the risk of transmission from asymptomatic people is available from The Atlantic, Science, STAT, and The Telegraph.

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CNN: Top doctor says White House coronavirus task force still missing 50% of testing data
“Dr. Deborah Birx said that the White House coronavirus task force is missing 50% of the data for coronavirus tests that have been conducted. Birx, one of the top officials on the White House’s coronavirus task force, said Thursday that part of the $2 trillion economic stimulus measure that was signed into law by President Donald Trump requires that all tests conducted get reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But Birx says she has not received that data yet…” (Hoffman/Kelly, 4/2).

CNN: How Fauci and Birx got Trump to listen to science
“…Summoned to the Oval Office last weekend to state their case for keeping the country closed, Fauci and Birx arrived armed with tangled multicolored lines, stippled mountains of various heights and one ominous inky blue bell curve showing American deaths from coronavirus rising to 2.2 million if social distancing efforts were abandoned. … Still, the charts — printed in color and blown up for effect — seemed to work, even as some of Trump’s advisers now question their accuracy. Trump announced hours later he was extending his coronavirus guidelines another 30 days, despite a strong inclination to open the nation for business…” (Liptak, 4/2).

STAT: Americans are underestimating how long coronavirus disruptions will last, health experts say
“Public health experts are increasingly worried that Americans are underestimating how long the coronavirus pandemic will disrupt everyday life in the country, warning that the Trump administration’s timelines are offering many a false sense of comfort…” (Branswell, 4/3).

Washington Post: Experts and Trump’s advisers doubt White House’s 240,000 coronavirus deaths estimate
“Leading disease forecasters, whose research the White House used to conclude 100,000 to 240,000 people will die nationwide from the coronavirus, were mystified when they saw the administration’s projection this week. The experts said they don’t challenge the numbers’ validity but that they don’t know how the White House arrived at them. White House officials have refused to explain how they generated the figure — a death toll bigger than the United States suffered in the Vietnam War or the 9/11 terrorist attacks. They have not provided the underlying data so others can assess its reliability or provided long-term strategies to lower that death count…” (Wan et al., 4/2).

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CNN: U.S. freezes shipments of protective gear overseas
“The Trump administration will no longer ship personal protective equipment to allies overseas as the United States grapples with critical shortages of supplies and coronavirus cases continue to soar. A congressional source told CNN on Wednesday that they were informed late last Friday night that the coronavirus task force — led by Vice President Mike Pence — was stopping overseas shipments of the medical equipment and instead asking that the supplies be distributed within the United States…” (Atwood et al., 4/2).

Foreign Policy: In Global Leadership Void on Pandemic, Critics Ask: Where’s Pompeo?
“As world leaders grapple with a pandemic that is forcing them to reshuffle their priorities, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has stuck largely to his pre-crisis script, doubling down on the administration’s hard-line Iran stance and unveiling a new effort to oust Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power. His continued focus on these issues leaves some experts and former diplomats worried that Pompeo, and by extension the Trump administration, is too narrowly fixated on a select few foreign-policy objectives — instead of rallying the world around a unified response to the coronavirus pandemic. All the while, critics worry that China is happily stepping in to fill the void as it edges closer to global superpower status…” (Gramer/Lynch, 4/2).

Los Angeles Times: Trump administration ended pandemic early-warning program to detect coronaviruses
“Two months before the novel coronavirus probably began spreading in Wuhan, China, the Trump administration ended a $200 million pandemic early-warning program aimed at training scientists in China and other countries to detect and respond to such a threat. The project, launched by the U.S. Agency for International Development in 2009, identified 1,200 different viruses that had the potential to erupt into pandemics, including more than 160 novel coronaviruses. The initiative, called PREDICT, also trained and supported staff in 60 foreign laboratories — including the Wuhan lab that identified 2019-nCoV, the new coronavirus that causes covid-19…” (4/2).

Mother Jones: Elizabeth Warren: How John Bolton Blew Off Senators Who Asked About Global Pandemics
“…Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) were troubled by this news [of Rear Admiral Tim Ziemer’s 2018 departure from the National Security Council], and they sent Bolton a letter noting the dismantling of the NSC’s global health squad ‘comes amid continuing concerns that the nation and the world are unprepared for pandemic outbreaks or other global health threats.’ … They posed Bolton a series of questions about the NSC’s preparedness to address a pandemic, including, ‘What current structure is in place at the NSC to address global health security?’ And the pair requested a ‘staff-level briefing on the Administration’s global public health work’ within two weeks. In an interview with Mother Jones this week, Warren recalls that Bolton blew them off…” (Corn, 4/2).

New York Magazine: Trump Replaced White House Pandemic-Response Team With Jared Kushner
“…Trump did eliminate the job of coordinating a national pandemic response. And the strongest evidence of the damage he did is that this job is now being performed by Jared Kushner. … The NSC’s remaining global-health staff did sound the alarm about the coronavirus early on, but its warnings did not register with high-level officials…” (Chait, 4/2).

POLITICO: Inside the National Security Council, a rising sense of dread
“On the second day in January, as a mysterious pathogen was infecting its way across China, Dr. Robert Redfield contacted the National Security Council. The U.S. government had unconfirmed information about what officials believed to be a novel coronavirus, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Better pay attention. … Looking at the data in January and February felt like staring into a bleak crystal ball, one administration official said…” (Lippman et al., 4/2).

Scientific American: Why the Coronavirus Slipped Past Disease Detectives
“…Experts say that like a fishing net with many holes, the surveillance network had numerous gaps, with too little money and manpower to be truly effective. … Indeed, in September 2019, just months before the COVID-19 pandemic began, USAID announced it would end funding for PREDICT. The agency claims it has plans for a successor effort, but it has not provided any additional details, and many worry that critical momentum is being lost…” (Schmidt, 4/3).

Washington Post: Commander of confusion: Trump sows uncertainty and seeks to cast blame in coronavirus crisis
“In the three weeks since declaring the novel coronavirus outbreak a national emergency, President Trump has delivered a dizzying array of rhetorical contortions, sowed confusion and repeatedly sought to cast blame on others. … As Trump has sought to remake his public image from that of a skeptic of the pandemic’s danger to a savior forestalling catastrophe and protecting hundreds of thousands of people from a vicious contagion, he also has distorted the truth, making edits and creating illusions at many turns…” (Rucker/Costa, 4/2).

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AP: Biden wants to talk to Trump about lessons from past crises
“Joe Biden said Thursday that he wants to speak with President Donald Trump in the hope that the president can ‘learn some lessons’ from the Obama administration on how to deal with the coronavirus outbreak…” (Jaffe/Barrow, 4/2).

The Hill: Biden calls for sanctions relief for Iran during coronavirus pandemic
“Former Vice President Joe Biden called for the government to ease its sanctions on Iran as the country struggles to contain an exploding coronavirus outbreak…” (Axelrod, 4/2).

Washington Times: Sanders wants sanctions on Iran eased back; Biden offers qualified support for aid
“…Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont joined more than two dozen members of Congress in petitioning the Trump administration to ease the sanctions. They said the Iranian government hasn’t acted swiftly enough or provided accurate information to the public, but that U.S. sanctions have devastated the country’s public health sector. … Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden followed up Thursday by offering qualified support for aid and sanctions relief for Iran. Mr. Biden said the Trump administration’s move to abandon the Obama-era 2015 nuclear deal and exert a ‘maximum pressure’ strategy has ‘badly backfired’…” (Sherfinski, 4/2).

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POLITICO: Martha McSally calls on WHO director to resign
“Sen. Martha McSally is calling on the World Health Organization director general to step down over what she deems his assistance in covering up China’s underreporting of the coronavirus, part of an escalating series of GOP criticisms of the organization. The Arizona Republican said on Fox Business on Thursday that Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus should resign over the organization’s handling of the virus, which originated in China…” (Everett, 4/2).

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Bloomberg: Malaria Drug Not Showing Promise (4/2).

The Lancet: Developing antibody tests for SARS-CoV-2 (Petherick, 4/4).

POLITICO: No ‘magic pill’: The fight over unproven drugs for coronavirus (Owermohle, 4/2).

PRI: Monopoly on COVID-19 treatment would be ‘dangerously stupid,’ MSF doctor says (4/2).

Reuters: Exclusive: Sanofi can produce millions of doses of potential coronavirus drug — CEO (Blamont/Erman, 4/2).

Washington Times: Hydroxychloroquine rated ‘most effective therapy’ by doctors for coronavirus: Global survey (Richardson, 4/2).

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The Guardian: Coronavirus crisis may deny 9.5 million women access to family planning
“Up to 9.5 million women and girls could miss out on vital family planning services this year because of Covid-19, potentially resulting in thousands of deaths. Marie Stopes International warned on Friday that travel restrictions and lockdowns could have a devastating affect on women as they struggle to collect contraceptives and access other reproductive healthcare services, such as safe abortions, across the 37 countries in which it works…” (Ford, 4/3).

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National Geographic: The second largest Ebola outbreak in history may finally be over
“While the world has been gripped by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the second-largest Ebola outbreak in history finally may be winding to a close. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported the first cases in what came to be known as the Kivu outbreak in August 2018. So far, the event has led to about 3,453 cases and 2,273 deaths. But no new Ebola cases have been reported in the DRC since February 17, and if that situation holds, the World Health Organization plans to declare the end of the outbreak on April 12…” (Vernimmen, 4/2).

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Devex: Here’s what the COVID-19 response looks like in refugee camps (Root, 4/3).

Devex: To tackle obesity, World Bank looks to lessons from Latin America (Welsh, 4/2).

Devex: Watch: Unacceptable — community health workers without COVID-19 protective gear (Kumar, 4/3).

Devex: Watch: Amref Health Africa CEO on COVID-19’s impact on NGO finances (Kumar, 4/3).

U.N. News: COVID-19 should not herald rollback in rights for people with autism: U.N. chief (4/2).

Xinhua: UNICEF commends China for its support to maternal, neonatal health services in Africa (4/3).

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The Lancet: Redefining vulnerability in the era of COVID-19
Editorial Board

“What does it mean to be vulnerable? … Certainly, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, vulnerable groups are not only elderly people, those with ill health and comorbidities, or homeless or underhoused people, but also people from a gradient of socioeconomic groups that might struggle to cope financially, mentally, or physically with the crisis. … Under this unprecedented challenge, governments must be mindful that strategies to address the pandemic should not further marginalize or stigmatize affected communities. … While responding to COVID-19, policymakers should consider the risk of deepening health inequalities. If vulnerable groups are not properly identified, the consequences of this pandemic will be even more devastating. Although WHO guidance should be followed, a one-size-fits-all model will not be appropriate. Each country must continually assess which members of society are vulnerable to fairly support those at the highest risk” (4/4).

The Lancet: COVID-19 will not leave behind refugees and migrants
Editorial Board

“Never has the ‘leave no one behind’ pledge felt more urgent. As nations around the world implement measures to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2, including lockdowns and restrictions on individuals’ movements, they must heed their global commitments. … Chief among the world’s most vulnerable people are refugees and migrants. The COVID-19 crisis puts these groups at enormous risk. Yet global pandemic efforts have so far failed in their duty of care to refugees and migrants. … Resettlement procedures have been suspended by the U.N. UNHCR reports that 34 countries hosting substantial refugee populations have seen local transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The often appalling conditions of migrant camps are fertile for infectious disease outbreaks. … The worst might be yet to come. 80% of refugees live in low-income and middle-income countries, the sites of the expected fourth wave of COVID-19 behind China, Europe, and the USA. Already, these settings have weak health care systems, scarce protective equipment, and poor testing and treatment capacity. They need enormous global support to prepare for an impending crisis. This virus disregards all borders. COVID-19 responses must not overlook refugees and migrants” (4/4).

Wall Street Journal: The States of Covid-19
Editorial Board

“…[It is] difficult … for leaders to make decisions when they still lack answers to basic questions. One response might be for the federal government to develop a website where the states update their numbers, outline the policies they have put in place, and note the results. That would let people and public officials find out what’s happening in, say, Louisiana; where other states are on the infection curve; what is being done to flatten it — and give people a better sense of what their unmet needs are likely to be. Precision is inherently difficult, but a federal website could be a shared clearinghouse for shaping policies informing the public. … U.S. is a large country, with different states at different stages of the virus and responding in different ways. One key to maintaining public support for government policies that impose tremendous economic costs is public trust in government information. Let’s provide more of it” (4/2).

Washington Post: Why is the U.S. pushing regime change in Venezuela during a pandemic?
Editorial Board

“…Venezuela, which by Thursday had reported 144 coronavirus infections and three deaths, faces a catastrophic outcome if the disease spreads widely; 80 percent of its hospitals lack even basic supplies, including soap. The administration has come under some pressure, including from the United Nations, to ease sanctions on Venezuela so that it can more easily obtain medical supplies. … [T]he United States should be looking for innovative ways to get help to Venezuelans; one possibility is to channel now-frozen Venezuelan funds to humanitarian groups via [U.S.-backed opposition head Juan] Guaidó. If this already stricken country suffers a catastrophic attack by the coronavirus, neither ‘maximum pressure’ nor a maximalist political plan will be of much help” (4/2).

Washington Post: Social distancing is working. The worst thing to do now is stop.
Editorial Board

“…Social distancing has never been tried on such a scale as now, and there is evidence that it can work, in democracies and dictatorships. Where people have followed the guidance to stay home, close schools, refrain from going into restaurants and bars, shutter workplaces and businesses, they have begun to slow the growth in infections, hopefully averting hospital overload. … The strategy of ‘flattening the curve’ doesn’t work if people ignore the need to practice social distancing and thus allow the virus to spread. If politicians and people ignore the restrictions, or tire of them too soon, more cities will flare like New York. … [Social distancing] seems to be worth a try” (4/2).

Washington Post: We face a worldwide ventilator deficit. The federal government is flat-footed.
Editorial Board

“The United States needs tens of thousands more ventilators in the coming weeks to handle the expected wave of covid-19 patients, and the question of which states and hospitals receive them — and can therefore save lives — comes down to this: Who will play God? Will it be U.S. and foreign medical device-makers, whose overwhelmed order books position them to determine which hospitals, states, or nations will get the ventilators they need? … The best alternative would be the federal government, which could play a constructive role in equitably allocating a scarce, lifesaving commodity — but has so far abdicated that responsibility. … The worldwide ventilator deficit represents a failure of foresight and planning. Assigning blame for that failure is less important than addressing it in the present. In the United States, the urgent priority is to manage the shortfall as rationally as possible…” (4/2).

The Guardian: U.N. secretary general: recovery from the coronavirus crisis must lead to a better world
António Guterres, secretary general of the United Nations

“…We must prepare for the worst and do everything to avoid it. Here is a three-point call to action — based on science, solidarity, and smart policies — for doing just that. First, suppress transmission of the coronavirus. This requires aggressive and early testing and contact tracing, complemented by quarantines, treatment and measures to keep first responders safe, combined with measures to restrict movement and contact. Such steps, despite the disruptions they cause, must be sustained until therapies and a vaccine emerge. … Second, tackle the devastating social and economic dimensions of the crisis. … Clearly, we must fight the virus for all of humanity, with a focus on people, especially the most affected: women, older people, youth, low-wage workers, small and medium enterprises, the informal sector, and vulnerable groups. … Third, recover better. We simply cannot return to where we were before Covid-19 struck, with societies unnecessarily vulnerable to crisis. … Now is the time to redouble our efforts to build more inclusive and sustainable economies and societies that are more resilient in the face of pandemics, climate change, and other global challenges. … At this unusual moment, we cannot resort to the usual tools. Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures. We face a colossal test which demands decisive, coordinated, and innovative action from all, for all” (4/2).

Americas Quarterly: How to Think About the Lockdown Decision in Latin America
Eduardo Levy Yeyati, economist, dean of the School of Government of Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, and nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Andrés Malamud, political scientist and senior research fellow at the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon, Portugal (4/2).

CNN: What happened when a president ignored the science on an epidemic
Robyn Curnow, CNN anchor and host of CNN International’s ‘CNN Newsroom with Robyn Curnow’ (4/2).

Foreign Affairs: Sanctions Make the Coronavirus More Deadly
Hadi Kahalzadeh, Ph.D. fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies and Ph.D. candidate in social policy at the Heller School at Brandeis University (4/2).

Foreign Policy: How WHO Became China’s Coronavirus Accomplice
Hinnerk Feldwisch-Drentrup, freelance journalist and co-founder of MedWatch (4/2).

Harvard Business Review: A Covid-19 Vaccine Will Need Equitable, Global Distribution
Rebecca Weintraub, member of the faculties of Harvard Medical School and Ariadne Labs and managing director of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation; Prashant Yadav, affiliate professor at INSEAD and fellow at the Center for Global Development; and Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (4/2).

The Hill: Latin America — the next coronavirus hotspot?
Cristina Lopez-Gottardi, assistant professor and research director for public and policy program at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, and Raul O. Chao, associate professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business (4/2).

IPS: COVID-19 requires gender-equal responses to save economies
Isabelle Durant, deputy secretary general of UNCTAD, and Pamela Coke-Hamilton, director of the Division on International Trade and Commodities at UNCTAD (4/2).

The Lancet: Offline: COVID-19 — what countries must do now
Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of the Lancet (4/4).

National Review: Is the World Health Organization Putting the World’s Health First?
Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), senior U.S. senator from Florida (4/1).

NEJM: Ten Weeks to Crush the Curve
Harvey V. Fineberg, president of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (4/1).

New York Times: Echoes of AIDS Epidemic as South Africa Fights Coronavirus
Mark Gevisser, author (4/3).

New York Times: Jared Kushner Is Going to Get Us All Killed
Michelle Goldberg, opinion columnist at the New York Times and author (4/2).

New York Times: These Coronavirus Exposures Might Be the Most Dangerous
Joshua D. Rabinowitz, professor of chemistry and genomics, and Caroline R. Bartman, genomic researcher (4/1).

Project Syndicate: How Democracies Can Beat the Pandemic
Maciej Kisilowski, professor of law and public management at Central European University, and Anna Wojciuk, professor of politics at the University of Warsaw (4/2).

Project Syndicate: China and America Are Failing the Pandemic Test
Joseph S. Nye, Jr., professor at Harvard University and author (4/2).

Washington Post: One of the world’s most vulnerable groups now finds itself confronting covid-19
Christian Caryl, editor with the Washington Post’s opinions section (4/2).

Washington Post: The time for a commission to study the pandemic is now
Scott Deitchman, principal with Gordon & Rosenblatt, and Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency from 2009 to 2017 (4/2).

Washington Post: After a disastrous summer, Australia braces for yet another plague
Nikki Stamp, heart and lung surgeon in Perth, Australia (4/3).

Washington Post: We need smart solutions to mitigate the coronavirus’s impact. Here are 16.
Multiple authors (4/2).

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Devex: Opinion: International community holds the key to ending cervical cancer
HRH Princess Dina Mired, global cancer advocate and president of the Union for International Cancer Control, and Marisol Touraine, senior member of the Conseil d’Etat and an international consultant for social policies (4/1).

The Lancet: The case for replacing live oral polio vaccine with inactivated vaccine in the Americas
Jorge A. Alfaro-Murillo with the Center for Infectious Disease Modeling and Analysis at the Yale School of Public Health, and colleagues (4/4).

Project Syndicate: Tackling Climate Change with COVID-19 Urgency
Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, chair of The Elders, and patron of the International Science Council; and Daya Reddy, president of the International Science Council (4/1).

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Brookings Institution: The early days of a global pandemic: A timeline of COVID-19 spread and government interventions
Dweepobotee Brahma, associate fellow with Brookings India, and colleagues (4/2).

Brookings Institution: Figures of the week: Perceptions of COVID-19 in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria
Payce Madden, research analyst in the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution (4/2).

Center for Global Development: Does One Size Fit All? Realistic Alternatives for COVID-19 Response in Low-Income Countries
Amanda Glassman, executive vice president of CGD, CEO of CGD Europe, and senior fellow, and colleagues (4/2).

Global Dispatches: What Political Science Can Teach Us About How Different Countries Are Handling COVID-19
Mark Goldberg, editor of U.N. Dispatch and host of the Global Dispatches Podcast (4/2).

IntraHealth International’s “Vital”: Preparing for Ebola, Then Coronavirus
Katherine Seaton, editorial officer for IntraHealth International (4/2).

ODI: Covid-19: ‘we won’t get back to normal because normal was the problem’
Sara Pantuliano, chief executive at ODI (4/1).

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Devex: Despite flexible USAID funding guidance, aid groups face long-term challenges
“As COVID-19 disrupts the aid industry and sends organizations scrambling to respond, implementers for U.S. Agency for International Development programs are largely praising the agency’s communication and flexibility, even as they grapple with the potential long-term impacts of the crisis. USAID has released several guidance documents, including a 31-page Q&A document last week, and has held numerous calls to help implementers navigate how to work with the agency as they need to change existing work plans or pause work on ongoing projects…” (Saldinger/Igoe, 4/3).

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U.S. Department of State: Briefing With Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback On COVID-19 Impact on Religious Minorities
During a briefing call, Samuel D. Brownback, ambassador at large for international religious freedom in the State Department’s Office of International Freedom, discussed the impact of COVID-19 on religious minorities worldwide (4/2).

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U.S. Department of State: Virtual Forum on Expanding Taiwan’s Participation on the Global Stage
“On March 31, 2020, high-level officials representing the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the U.S. Department of State, the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), and the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs convened for a virtual forum on expanding Taiwan’s participation on the global stage. The discussion focused on creating forums to share the successful and internationally lauded Taiwan Model on fighting COVID-19 with countries around the world. Participants also discussed ongoing efforts to reinstate Taiwan’s observer status at the World Health Assembly, as well as other avenues for closer coordination between Taiwan and the World Health Organization…” (4/2).

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CDC’s “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report”: Notes from the Field: First Evidence of Locally Acquired Dengue Since 1944 — Guam, 2019
Stephanie Kern-Allely, fellow at the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Fellowship Program at the Guam Department of Public Health and Social Services, and colleagues discuss the detection of a locally acquired dengue case on Guam, representing the first locally acquired case on Guam since 1944. The authors write, “It is important that future arboviral preparedness addresses gaps in detection and response exposed by the reemergence of dengue on Guam” (4/3).

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KFF: COVID-19 Coronavirus Tracker — Updated as of April 3, 2020 (4/3).

KFF: Put to the Test: Can the U.S. Get to the Next Phase of the COVID-19 Response? (Kates/Michaud, 4/1).

Additional KFF COVID-19 resources, including those focused on the response and impact within the U.S., are available here. KFF’s new blog series “Coronavirus Policy Watch” is available here.

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