Los Angeles Times - 13.03.2020

A4 FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2020 WST LATIMES.COM

Home Delivery and

Membership Program

For questions about delivery,

billing and vacation holds, or

for information about our

Membership program, please

contact us at (213) 283-2274 or

membershipservices@

latimes.com. You can also

manage your account at

myaccount.latimes.com.

Letters to the Editor

Want to write a letter to be

published in the paper and

online? E-mail

[email protected].

For submission guidelines,

see latimes.com/letters.

Readers’ Representative

If you believe we have

made an error, or you have

questions about our

journalistic standards

and practices, our readers’

representative can be

reached at

readers.representative

@latimes.com, (877) 554-

or online at

latimes.com/readersrep.

Advertising

For print and online

advertising information, go to

latimes.com/mediakit or call

(213) 237-6176.

Reprint Requests

For the rights to use articles,

photos, graphics and page

reproductions, e-mail

[email protected] or call

(213) 237-4565.

Times In Education

To get the digital

Los Angeles Times at no

cost (along with our

newspaper–based teaching

materials), contact us at

latimes.com/tie, or email

[email protected]

The Newsroom

Know something important

we should cover? Send a

secure tip at

latimes.com/tips. To send a

press release go to the

newsroom directory at

latimes.com/staff.

Media Relations

For outside media requests

and inquiries, e-mail

[email protected].

L.A. Times Store

Search archives, merchandise

and front pages at

latimes.com/store.

How to contact us

(800) LA TIMES

Founded Dec. 4, 1881

Vol. CXXXIX No. 101

LOS ANGELES TIMES (ISSN 0458-3035)

is published by the Los Angeles Times,

2300 E. Imperial Highway, El Segundo, CA

90245. Periodicals postage is paid at Los
       Angeles, CA, and additional cities.
       POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
       the above address.
       Home Delivery Subscription Rates (all rates
       include applicable CA sales taxes and apply
       to most areas)
       Print + unlimited digital rates:
       Seven-day $17/week, $884 annually.
       Thursday–Sunday $16/week, $832 annually.
       Thursday & Sunday $6.99/week, $363.
       annually. Saturday & Sunday $6.99/week,
       $363.48 annually. Sunday $6.99/week,
       $363.48 annually. Monday–Saturday
       $16/week, $832 annually (also includes
       Sundays, except 2/17, 4/21, 9/1, and 10/27).
       Monday–Friday $16/week, $832 annually.
       Print-only rates:
       Seven-day $1,144 annually.

Thursday–Sunday $884 annually. Thursday

& Sunday $364 annually. Saturday &

Sunday $364 annually. Sunday $

annually. Monday–Saturday $936 annually

(also includes Sundays, except 2/17, 4/21,

9/1, and 10/27). Monday–Friday $

annually.

Pricing for all subscriptions includes the

Thanksgiving 11/28 issue.

All subscriptions may include up to seven

Premium Edition issues per year. For each

Premium issue, your account balance will be

charged an additional fee up to $4.49 in the

billing period when the section publishes.

This will result in shortening the length of

your billing period. Future premium issues

scheduled to date: Envelope 2/9/20,

Baseball Preview 3/22/20, NFL Preview

8/30/20, Holiday Gift Guide 11/1/20, 101

Restaurants 12/13/20, Year in Review

12/27/20. Dates are subject to change

without notice.

Printed with soy-based ink on recycled newsprint from wood byproducts.

“This time of year, this

place is usually full. Espe-

cially on Saturdays,”

Achotegui said, swirling a

glass of Tempranillo on a

wooden table. “Next Sat-

urday, I don’t have a single

reservation.”

Achotegui had run the

hotel for a decade. Never be-

fore had he seen an empty

Saturday.

The receptionist’s desk is

littered with crossed-out

reservation slips. At

lunchtime, the dining room

saw one customer — for

takeaway.

Achotegui and others in

the hospitality industry

worry about the year’s most

important event, Semana

Santa, just a month away.

What if that gets canceled?

HARO, Spain — As in
many communities world-
wide, a coronavirus out-
break has hit Haro, a town of
12,000 that is the de facto
capital of La Rioja, Spain’s
prized wine region.
But the town — famed for
its production of Tempra-
nillo and for an annual Wine
Battle festival in which par-
ticipants spray, pour and
toss red wine at one another
— has come under another
plague: misinformation.
Last weekend, many
news outlets circulated inac-
curate reports that the
streets had been blockaded,
neighborhoods quarantined
and the town placed under a
lockdown similar to the one
imposed in Italy. One widely
circulated image showed a
street that had been blocked
off — but in reality that
street had been closed for
construction. Residents —
and eventually the region’s
health ministry — tried to
fight back with facts, but it
has been a frustrating bat-
tle.
“It’s a problem of disin-
formation,” said bar owner
Michel Redondo, 54. “You
can enter and leave the town
without a problem. But the
information that’s being giv-
en is that we are here, locked
up.”
As of Thursday, La Rioja
counted 220 COVID-
cases, many of which can be
traced to a handful of resi-
dents in Haro, according to
the regional health ministry.
Two people in the region
have died of the disease, out
of a total of 84 deaths across
Spain as of Thursday eve-
ning.
It is believed that the
Haro residents contracted
the virus about a week ago at
a funeral in Vitoria, the capi-
tal of the neighboring
Basque Country, and re-
turned to town without no-
ticing symptoms.
After the first of these
residents went to a hospital
with fever-like symptoms,
other cases cropped up
around the town. Officials
asked infected residents to
self-quarantine for two
weeks.
When some infected resi-
dents broke the quarantine
and left their homes, police
took more drastic measures.
Wearing hazmat suits, offi-
cers hand-delivered notices
to the residents: Comply, or
risk a fine of up to $670,000.
From these scenes came
the viral photos, including
images of the police in haz-
mat suits and of a blockaded
street. (The street, in fact,
had been blocked off for pri-
or construction work.) And
in a news conference Sat-
urday, Fernando Simón, the
doctor in charge of coordi-
nating Spain’s coronavirus

response, mentioned the

possibility of quarantining

entire neighborhoods in the

town.

In reality, the town is qui-

et — not because of mass

quarantines, but because

tourists have stopped com-

ing.

Haro, a sleepy village sur-

rounded by vineyards, lives

off tourism. The town boasts

more than 15 wineries, many

of which are a century old.

During the summer, Haro’s

population doubles.

For its business owners,

more alarming than the

virus is the threat the bad

news poses to the local econ-

omy — just as warm weather

sets in and the tourist sea-

son begins.

In mid-March, the scenes

in Haro are these: empty

bars, shuttered restaurants,

bored receptionists.

Winemakers have can-

celed vineyard tours.

Restaurants have closed,

posting notices on their win-

dows referring to a “week’s

break.”

On Tuesday evening,

Miguel Achotegui sat on the

breezy terrace of his hotel,

lamenting the drop-off in

guests. Only three of his 21

rooms were occupied — and

two of them were taken by

Haro residents whose

homes were being remod-

eled.

Achotegui had spent the

previous day fielding phone

calls from worried tourists.

It’s fine, he told them.

They canceled anyway.

If the virus had broken

out in November, Achotegui

said, there would have been

little economic repercus-

sion. But now, with the tour-

ists season just beginning,

the next several weeks look

bleak.

“We’re here with our ton-

gues out.”

Redondo, the bar owner,

said drivers have called him

to ask if they’ll be able to en-

ter town to deliver products.

While business owners

and local politicians are ea-

ger to promote the image of a

tranquil town whose resi-

dents continue with their

normal lives, officials have

taken advanced measures to

control the spread of the

virus. On Tuesday, the re-

gion’s health ministry shut

down all schools for 15 days.

They have also encouraged

people to work from home

when possible.

Sporting events have

been canceled, as were activ-

ities to celebrate Interna-

tional Women’s Day on Sun-

day.

Redondo acknowledges

there is a social panic

spreading through town.

“I’ve noticed fewer people on

the streets,” he said.

Televised coronavirus

updates are the background

noise in most restaurants.

Conversations about the

virus carry across plazas.

People have become awk-

ward in their greetings, un-

certain about giving the

standard two kisses on the

cheeks and sometimes opt-

ing for a half wave, or an el-

bow nudge.

In one bar, a man pon-

dered buying a mask.

“Why?” asked the bar-

tender.

The man looked at his

hands. “I’m old,” he said.

Joseba Martín Díez, the

man behind the town’s news

outlet, Haro Digital, has

worked long hours in the last

several weeks, single-han-

dedly writing more than 50

articles about COVID-19.

While he’d like to work on

combating misinformation

about the city, he’s too busy

chasing down health offi-

cials and new cases.

“I have no time,” he said.

Fortunately, Achotegui

said that news outlets have

recognized their early lapses

in coverage and are making

an effort to correct previous

stories. The other day, he

went on the Spanish televi-

sion channel La Sexta to

make the case for visiting

Haro.

But he feared it was too

late.

“It’s already done,” he

said.

Bernhard is a special

correspondent.

A grim tourist season for Spanish town

Misinformation about

coronavirus has kept

visitors from Haro,

known for its wineries.

By Meg Bernhard

THE STREETS in Haro, Spain, sit empty. COVID-19 cases traced to a handful of the town’s residents have

fueled inaccurate reports about blockaded streets and quarantined neighborhoods, scaring away tourists.

Ander GilleneaAFP/Getty Images

Jon Murray: In the March

12 Calendar section, an arti-

cle about “The Real World”

co-creator Jon Murray said

he had given David France

$250,000 to help finish the

documentary “Welcome to

Chechnya.” The amount was

$100,000. It also named Har-

vey Reese as a producer on

“Transhood,” which he was

not. “Transhood” will show

at Toronto’s Hot Docs this

year.

FOR THE

RECORD

are also exempted. Even so,

the sudden restrictions led

to panicked crowds at sev-

eral European airports.

“This is not how a great

country manages its rela-

tions with its closest allies,”

said Heather Conley, direc-

tor of the Europe program at

the Center for Strategic and

International Studies think

tank in Washington. “There

was no diplomacy.... It was a

domestic political desire to

offer a big announcement

and to blame someone.”

She said such “person-

ality-driven” diplomacy

“completely neuters the in-

stitutions and all the re-

lationships that make the

mechanics of crises like

these work.”

The speech, written by

White House advisor

Stephen Miller, an anti-im-

migrant ideologue, and

Trump son-in-law Jared

Kushner, was laden with

rhetoric that blamed

COVID-19 on a “foreign

virus.” Trump and others in

his administration have re-

peatedly referred to the

“Chinese virus” or “Wuhan

virus” to emphasize its ori-

gin in that Chinese city.

In past global crises,

American presidents typi-

cally took leadership roles

and moved quickly to bring

nations together and rally

international support.

Trump continues to view the

response to the virus as a

competition, frequently

comparing the number of

U.S. cases and deaths with

those of other countries.

China, in fact, made an ef-

fort at outmaneuvering

Washington on the global

stage. As Trump issued his

travel ban, China sent aid to

Italy, the hardest-hit coun-

try in Europe.

“The coronavirus is a

global crisis, not limited to

any continent and it re-

quires cooperation rather

than unilateral action,” Eu-

ropean Council President

Charles Michel and Europe-

an Commission President

Ursula von der Leyen said

Thursday.

Trump has long been dis-

missive of diplomacy. But

the coronavirus crisis ex-

poses the risks involved.

“What the coronavirus

crisis reinforces is that gov-

ernments really do matter,”

said Jon Alterman, a global

security expert at CSIS. “It’s

relationships between gov-

ernment officials that mat-

ter. And if you can’t forge

those relationships, if you

can’t forge the partnerships,

you live in a whole different

world.”

WASHINGTON — Di-

plomacy by nature is a per-

sonal endeavor. Long, face-

to-face meetings with offi-

cials from all over the world.

Building trust, gaining co-

operation, trading secrets.

Can this be achieved at a

long distance? Secretary of

State Michael R. Pompeo

and the foot soldiers of U.S.

diplomacy under President

Trump are about to find out

as the coronavirus pan-

demic closes conventional

channels of contact and can-

cels numerous plans, trips

and programs for American

officials and their global

counterparts.

The State Department

announced next week’s

long-planned meeting in

Pittsburgh of foreign min-

isters from the Group of 7

top economies will be con-

ducted “virtually.” State offi-

cials declined to provide de-

tails, but the move presum-

ably means the foreign min-

isters from Canada, Britain,

Japan, Germany, Italy and

France will not travel to the

U.S. for the mini-summit.

It remains unclear what

will happen to the larger

summit of G-7 presidents

and prime ministers that

Trump is to host at Camp

David in June.

On Thursday, Pompeo —

who has repeatedly said one

of the most important tasks

of America’s top diplomat is

“showing up” — also sus-

pended dozens of the de-

partment’s educational ex-

change programs for 60 days

and was reassessing a num-

ber of overseas trips, aides

said.

Separately, the United

Nations was scaling back op-

erations globally and closing

agencies, such as its human

rights division in Geneva

and its maritime safety

board in London. It short-

ened a New York conference

on women’s equality from

two weeks to one day. In

Washington and elsewhere,

foreign policy think tanks

were postponing sessions,

sending analysts home and

shifting briefings online.

The disruptions come at

a time when more co-

operation and conversation

are needed in the interna-

tional and multilateral

arena, experts and current

and former diplomats said.

“There is still a lot of un-

certainty” on all fronts of the

coronavirus crisis, said

Stephanie Segal, an econo-

mist formerly with the

Treasury Department.

“There is hunger for more

policy coordination.”

Traditionally, experi-

enced diplomats can find

workarounds in such crises,

counting on already well-es-

tablished relationships, pro-

tocols and technology to

keep lines of communication

open, said Daniel Fried, a

veteran diplomat who

served as an assistant secre-

tary of State under George

W. Bush.

But with this administra-

tion’s unorthodox, rule-

busting “America first” ap-

proach to foreign policy,

Fried and others worried

that Pompeo and his team

will be ill-equipped to bridge

the chasms opened by a lack

of in-person contact.

Trump’s Oval Office

speech Wednesday high-

lighted the chaos created

when there is no coordina-

tion or outreach in handling

such a fast-widening crisis.

The president, without

advance consultation with

most European leaders, an-

nounced he was barring

travel to the U.S. from 26 Eu-

ropean countries, many of

which belong to the Europe-

an Union, a bloc he has long

criticized. In his speech, he

said European travelers had

“seeded” the virus in many

U.S. cities, though experts

questioned that assertion.

“A good bureaucrat can

work with anything,” Fried

said. “But you don’t pick

fights with allies. You need

decent relations so you can

pick up the phone.”

Trump exempted Britain

from the new travel ban,

even though it has reported

dozens of coronavirus cases.

Americans and businesses

Global diplomacy joins roster of casualties

Disruptions from

coronavirus come at a

time when outreach

by the U.S. is needed.

By Tracy Wilkinson