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The Nipah virus has a high fatality rate, and there is no vaccine available currently. I wonder if quarantine efforts against Covid would also help to prevent this virus from spreading.

It's always scary to hear about a new virus, and I wonder how contagious the Nipah virus is, especially since it is more deadly than COVID.

Scary to hear about, especially since the fatality is 40% and 75%. I wonder if previous experience in dealing with the Nipah virus (the 2018 outbreak) will be of assistance.

This article has a lot of information about the Ebola virus and its impact on the world. I chose this article because many people are completely paranoid about Ebola in the US. The article explains that Ebola spreads slowly, and it is not extremely contagious. Many people are scared of Ebola because of the horrific things it does to your body, but it is important to stop and realize that in the US, it is extremely unlikely to effect a large amount of people. You have to have to exchange bodily fluids with someone showing symptoms of the virus. There are only 2 cases of Ebola in the US (as far as we know), so there is no point in being concerned about becoming infected with ebola.

I love how informative that article was. It gets straight to the point. Although I was never too concerned with the virus to begin with, I do feel a little less afraid of it, like Max. It's really interesting to know that the virus most likely originated from bats though!

Thanks for posting this. There is a lot of good information in this article. With the people's skepticism and the high risk of infection, it must be very difficult to be a health worker in this outbreak.

The CDC changed its Covid-19 testing guidelines this week to include that individuals who have been exposed to the virus and are asymptomatic do not need to be tested. While some speculated this is due to a shortage of tests and long wait times it is unclear why the change has been made. This decision could prove to be dangerous especially because of the reopening of schools across the country.

I think this article highlights people's will to pretend the pandemic is over and try to go back to a normal life. It is very surprising that the CDC, who is generally the voice of conservatism and caution when it comes to outbreaks, is also joining this trend but the idea of it is very dangerous. Even if they had good reason to make the change, not describing it allows people to make their own assumptions about why the change was made. For example, people could think that, as long as they don't show symptoms, they are clear to do whatever they want regarding the virus. This thinking could make the spread of the virus grow even more. Overall, I think that we need more voices of caution and reason in positions of influence to inspire people to continue fighting against the virus.

Similar to what Jalen said, I think the CDC is clearly shaping their advice to optimize the availability of resources where they are most needed. They did this early on when they said people didn't need to wear masks. What they were trying to do was make sure that hospitals and individuals at risk had enough PPE during a shortage, but the unfortunate result was that it undermined their legitimacy when they later said masks were beneficial. It might be possible that a similar thing will occur with asymptomatic testing. When/if testing becomes more available, people might not volunteer to be tested if they don't have symptoms because of previous strategic statements made by the CDC.

In order to remedy Ebola, Nations most affected by the virus, namely Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, must allow their leaders to calm and heal the general public. If political and social leaders fail to eradicate the disease, the number of people infected will quickly rise from 3000 to 20,000. So far, several countries have mismanaged the outbreak. Governments quarantined rural and urban areas of aforementioned African countries; a slum in Monrovia, the Capitol of Liberia, was one of the blocked off places. Instead of helping the people, as intended, the quarantines trap people. These people feel disregarded and sentenced to death. Fear causes people to run from the spaces and further spread Ebola, defeating the purpose of the quarantine. Even if African governments take necessary steps to prevent the spread of the disease, Western aid is still essential. Western countries should not supply weapons to help contain quarantines, but rather provide medicine and experienced medical personnel. Unfortunately, the pay is not high enough for many medics to risk their lives treating a disease that is the highest risk to doctors and nurses. The solution to Ebola is not an obvious one; the entire process is experimental. However, U.N. experts say a medical center need be established in West Africa where representatives of every African country can convene to discuss the disease.

Very interesting article. It is interesting how psychology must be considered in giving aid to African countries infected with Ebola (for example, the article mentions that soldiers shouldn't brandish their weapons so Ebola patients won't be afraid of the quarantine). The quarantines seem like an extra cause for panic. Imagine a Liberian seeing a quarantine being set up. Do you think they would act calmly and happily admit themselves to the quarantine, or just simply run away and spread the virus further?

Great analysis--see quotes below--but my question is, can the widespread response that is needed actually be pulled together? Especially, can it be pulled together fast? "Most agreed on many basic principles. All, for example, were sure the outbreak could be stopped without experimental drugs or vaccines. None expected it to take less than six months." "Pay is also an issue, experts said. Health workers taking huge risks must be compensated, and so must their families if they die." "Also, this outbreak is like SARS in that doctors and nurses are in the highest risk group. Training must be extra-thorough - especially in taking off protective gear that might be smeared with virus. Nigeria, for example, does not let anyone near victims without three days of training on wearing protective gear, said its health minister, Dr. Onyebuchi Chukwu." "The new W.H.O. road map calls for 12,000 local health workers and 750 expatriates." ""There's no part of this you can't break down and make work," Dr. Aylward said. "But it took us 20 years to build the polio response, and this has to be done in 20 days."

Coronavirus cases in the UK have surged to numbers even higher than the initial spike in May. Efforts to help the economy and keep the country open have made citizens at greater risk, and experts urge more restrictions and a potential second lockdown.

I think it's a bit of a dilemma, whether it is the right choice to impose another national shutdown after seeing such a severe economic consequence after the first one and a loss of almost 700,000 jobs, or to forgo the consequences and enact the shutdown anyway to prevent the further spread of the virus. Restrictions are probably the only in-between that might work or at least do less damage.

Venezuela, under the leadership of President Maduro, has started to to use military force, intimidation, and imprisonment to address the coronavirus and consolidate political power. It is believed that the virus presents a threat to the Venezuelan government because it exposes the country's lack of resources and vulnerability in times of turmoil. It has now essentially become a crime to contract the virus because one can be labeled a bio-terrorist. I was drawn to this article because I wanted to see how other countries have been addressing the virus and this approach certainly stood out to me.

This article is really interesting. I think it highlights the fact that a crisis shows the true colors of a government and what they value. In this case they clearly don't value the lives of their citizens. Although their methods may be effective at slowing the spread of coronavirus, given the conditions the so called "bio-terrorists" are forced to live in, they are not effective at keeping their citizens healthy. Rather, the government is only employing this method to perpetuate power. From what I have seen in this and other articles, it appears that in many places around the world the government's response to COVID-19 has less to do with protecting the health and well being of citizens and more to do with maintaining power and image.

This article is both fascinating and deeply disturbing. Like Jalen said, this really does put on full display what a government actually cares about. I saw in the article that Pres. Maduro said "[his citizens are] given care that's unique in the world, humane care, loving, Christian," and having done a quick google search I've realized that Venezuala is an officially Roman Catholic country. I found this interesting, and I've often wondered why countries that are officially religious seem so often not to adhere to the values of those religions, while claiming that they do. An easy answer is to protect their reputation and economy, but I'd love to look into it more.

Now that Nigeria has been declared ebola free, there is a sense of relief that the virus can be contained; however, with over 9,000 people having been infected (and growing) the epidemic still has enormous potential to grow and the response should remain aggressive. It is a blessing and a curse that Nigeria is ebola free, though, because now more infected people will be sent there in hopes of being treated with Nigeria's so called "better care", increasing the chances of the ebola virus being reintroduced into the country.

Instead of requiring strict social distancing measures and lockdowns like the United States, France and many other European countries have encouraged citizens to go back to their normal lives. The countries are confident that with widespread testing, medical infrastructure, and mask availability, they will be able to control a surge in cases and limit hospitalizations. This move is still controversial, as many think that letting the virus "run its course" would disproportionately impact immunocompromised and the elderly. Yet, the majority of recent cases have been in young people, likely due to their increased socialization. I think this is interesting and possibly a more practical COVID response than lockdowns, which people rarely follow. I wonder if an approach like this could work in the United States, but the pandemic response remains highly political here.

I feel like this strategy used in Europe is much more likely to succeed than if it was used in the US, as I agree with you that in Europe the coronavirus response is less of a political issue and more of a health crisis. Therefore, in Europe, people more vulnerable to the virus are more likely to stay home and carry out social distancing protocol for their own and others' safety than the US, where coronavirus safety guidelines are sometimes seen as an encroachment on people's individual freedoms. In the US it is much more unclear as to whether this kind of approach would really work, not only because of the pandemic response being politicized but also because of many refusing to wear a mask and US covid-19 testing issues.

After reopening 1,800 public schools for part-time in-person classes, NYC is reporting a surprisingly small number of cases. In the first week of testing, only 18 students and staff members tested positive out of 10,676. There are still concerns that a second wave of the virus could shut the schools back down again.

I wonder if the little cases have to do with the fact that NYC was a major hot spot at the start of the pandemic. Nevertheless, I hope schools across the country follow in New York's footsteps so we can have a safe reopening and not further increase the rise in cases.

Recently, Russia announced that it had created the first Covid-19 vaccine. They were immediately met with skepticism by many Western countries, as well as from doctors around the world. I find it very interesting that Russia named their vaccine "Sputnik V" after Sputnik 1, the first space satellite; it seems like Russia wants to mirror the Space Race by racing to find a vaccine while other countries focus on trials to ensure a potential vaccine's safety and effectiveness.

Although it is obvious that this vaccine has not undergone enough testing for researchers to fully understand its efficiency or possible side effects, I find it interesting that western countries were so quick to dismiss it completely. I recently read an article on Dr. Fauci that explained his time as a health official during the AIDS crisis. Because scientists did not know how the virus spread and the majority of its victims were a part of the gay community, researchers refused to go off the strict track of trials usually regulated. In short, thousands and thousands of ill people were rapidly dying yet being told they could not undergo treatment for fear of bad side effects or results. After lots of protest from the LBGTQ community, Fauci, as the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, allowed for more experimental drug treatment due to the deadliness of the virus. Today, he is regarded as a hero and a scientific humanist who did the right thing when it was necessary. Yet when Russia follows a similar track, it is regarded as rushed and faked for nice press or some Cold-War feud against the US. Although the death rate was much higher, and subsequently side effects would matter less if the patient would ultimately die without intervention (whereas with Covid, side effects could be catastrophic by worsening large groups of the population who would have otherwise survived), I find it interesting that Americans still harbor so much resentment towards Russia (or at least assume that everything must be a competition). I wonder how this was reported on in other countries.

Bolivia is struggling to contain the spread of coronavirus as a result of political turmoil and weak infrastructure. Bolivia's interim president, Jeanine Áñez, announced in late January of this year that she would be running for office, and postponed the election from May to October over concerns that the pandemic would make voting unsafe. Her decision to run for president strained her relationship with opposition lawmakers and officials, which resulted in a disorganized effort to combat the pandemic. Roadblocks and protests by labor unions and supporters of former president Evo Morales have further hindered Bolivia's response. Bolivia's ineffective efforts have left hospitals without the equipment required, leaving many infected without care.

This is a scary reality for many countries in south and central America. I have seen reports of extremely high death rates due to the lack of care available and the weak infrastructure of these countries. For example, Guatemala is dealing with a similar problem. They have had to dig mass graves for unidentified coronavirus victims and the reported death and case rate is not accurate. It would be interesting to look at the history of these countries, the way America had a role in them, and why they are being hit so hard by the pandemic.

I find this example particularly unique to point out the effect of a weak and disunited government on how emergencies are handled. It seems as though the Bolivian government can only blame itself for the civilian lives lost. In my opinion, this parallels with the U.S., albeit to a lesser degree, as political disagreements and disunification have allowed the virus to sweep across the country before plans and safety measures were implemented.

This article, from a self proclaimed "unbiased" German media source, explores how Japan was able to limit covid cases so well. Compared to most other countries, Japan has significant risk factors: a dense population with a large concentration of old people and a flow of traffic from neighboring China. Yet, they have wildly low numbers of cases and deaths. Although some political scientists theorize that the government has under tested in order to appear organized and keep their 2020 olympics position, many believe that tests were simply preserved in case of emergency. In either case, Japan's hygienic culture is indisputably helpful. An interviewed citizen said that they "didn't need" covid to "teach" them how to wash their hands or wear a mask. In fact, wearing a mask is seen as a civic duty and is seen as the bare minimum for every person. (Flu rates actually decreased due to such strict mask wearing). As a result, Japanese people are able to continue with many regularly scheduled activities; school, festivals, even amusement parks began to re-open by March.

I think it's really interesting how unspoken rules/cultural norms were able to in some ways make up for the failures of the Japenese government's response in terms of testing.

Hi Cooper! It is so interesting how the different cultures have influenced how much the virus spreads. Seeing how in the US, the government played a huge role in influencing the spread of the virus, I'm curious if any other political factors have also played a role in Japan's success.

This article discussed the plans for reopening college football within the United States amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. I was drawn to the article because I was interested in learning about the guidelines and restrictions the United States was using to reopening recreational activities, such as college football. Through reading the article, I thought it was interesting that there was no coherent reopening plan, like with the NBA, but rather that different states and universities had very differing plans regarding what guidelines and restrictions will be in-place for reopening this activity. I would be interested in taking a deeper look into how other countries have attempted to reopen recreational activities and how their methods were different from those taken here.

Following up to the other comments on this post, I am curious how these universities expect to pull off this bubble, since there have been many outbreaks in colleges due to parties and general disregard for safety. I think this will only make an outbreak within college teams more likely and it is extremely worrying that there is not a unified plan to address these issues.

I agree with what Luke and Aaron have said. I think that attempting to create a "bubble" won't work for such large teams and at the college level. It's irresponsible of the officials to attempt to move forward with the season and risk the lives of the students. In my opinion, they should just scrap the entire season because they have no unified plans.

The senate race is especially important this year because, if Joe Biden wins, he and the house will be unable to pass anything with the currently Republican senate. The democrats are expected to need to flip four seats to gain a 50-50 tie (that would be decided by the VP and POTUS), and North Carolina is one of the most important of those four. It is a purple state that usually picks a democratic governor, but the Republican president. However, the Democrats have been recently enacting a successful strategy of nominating moderate, veteran candidates and did the same with Thom Tillis. He was expected to win already, when Thom was seen at the Supreme Court announcement party for Amy Barret, without a mask, the day before Trump announced that he had corona virus. Republican voters tend to be more moderate and do believe in the virus in NC, yet are often still Trump supporters. So Tillis is stuck between supporting the president and receiving backlash for Trump's more radical and irresponsible actions. All of which led analysts to believe that the race would be a democratic landslide, until news broke that dem candidate Cal Cunningham was having an affair. Now, it is a complete guess as to who will win as polls have not shown obvious fall out from either incident. (Plus it's a podcast, so it's nice to not look at a screen).

We're all still on tenterhooks for the runoff! Two Senate seats in the balance!

Health officials in Europe are sending out warnings of an imminent second wave of the virus. However, more and more people are dismissing the virus, claiming that it is a hoax. These times of crisis have only deepened the distrust of government. Protests of 10s of thousands of people have sprouted up in Europe. This type of behavior is dangerous.

This article talks about how all over Europe, but especially in cities such as London, trust in the governments advice regarding restrictions and guidelines due to the coronavirus, specifically around masks. People are attributing this behavior to the unknowns around the coronavirus and people trying to make sense of the world around them. While this is going on, the cases in most of the European countries have spiked, with 12,000 new cases in France in the last week alone.

This depicts the interesting tension between social democracy and liberalism. When right-wing regimes don't provide enough support in the face of global challenges, the people want more government support and that's Lula is surging in polls.

Amazing comeback for Lula as well!

Interesting article that discusses how many Liberians are responding to the Ebola virus outbreak. Many Liberians have lived through extreme plight because of the 14 year civil war that ended in 2003. Many Liberian's do not simply turn their back on the sick. The plight they have faced keeps them resilient through the struggle that Ebola creates. They keep humanity alive.

This article not only touches upon the dangerous and negative effects of the Ebola outbreak, but calls into questions an ethical controversy regarding preferential treatment when it comes to medical care. As the need for a cure escalates, the time allotted for the testing and developing of an anti-Ebola drug diminishes. Thus, medicine that has not been thoroughly tested has been distributed to two white Americans infected with the virus. This begs the question: Why these two? Does it have to do with their race or anti-African biases? And once the drug is fully developed, who will receive the treatment first? Who will be prioritized? Additionally, this contentious matter has added to the already distrustful African view of Western pharmaceuticals and relief efforts.

I found it interesting that not only did the article touch on the ethical questions of who to give the first available drugs to, from a standpoint of where it would be most effective rather than just where it would be most convenient. The part of the article where acceptance of the drug came into question was another touchy matter. The attempt to administer the drug as a solution to the Ebola break out is difficult because of the nature of the illness and the apprehension towards Western Medicine. Even though the medicine is available there's no telling if this quick fix will actually contain and solve the crisis just as Arthur Kaplan says at the end of the article.

The article brings to light interesting conflicts between African countries and the western industries of medicine. I feel like it would be effective to offer medical education to the local inhabitants in the infected african countries. That way their knowledge can help them avoid getting the disease. Furthermore, they would have more knowledge to help them decide whether or not they would like to take the drug that is possibly a functioning vaccination, rather than just not giving the sick African patients the option. The complexity of this problem is interesting because it deals with issues of ethics and trust.