What happened
Fears were growing this week that the new
SARS-like coronavirus could spiral into a
global pandemic, as the number of cases
continued to multiply inside China and
abroad despite Beijing’s unprecedented
efforts to contain the disease. More than
6,000 cases of the respiratory virus—
thought to have emerged from a live-
animal market in the central Chinese city
of Wuhan—have been confirmed so far
in China, but experts believe the actual
number is far higher. At least 133 people
have died from the disease, which can be
transmitted from person to person and has
surfaced in 19 countries, including the U.S.,
Germany, Japan, and Australia. To stem the spread, Beijing has
implemented the largest quarantine in human history, putting more
than 50 million people across 17 cities on lockdown and shuttering
public transport systems and schools. Streets and stores in Wuhan,
home to 11 million people, are deserted. “It’s just a ghost town
now,” said John McGory, an American teacher in the city.At least five coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the U.S.; all
of the patients had recently visited Wuhan. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention said the virus currently poses a low risk
to the American public, but it advised Americans to avoid all non-
essential travel to China. American Airlines and United Airlines cut
their number of flights to China, and the White House said it was
considering banning all direct flights to the country. “The whole
world needs to be on alert,” said Dr. Mike Ryan of the World
Health Organization.What the editorials said
The outbreak has exposed “the vulnerabilities of China’s top-down
government,” said The Wall Street Journal. While not as bad as the
denial and inaction that allowed SARS to go global in 2002, Bei-
jing’s response has been substandard, and accounts from authorities
“seem to be changing by the hour.” Local officials, fearful of being
punished for highlighting problems, downplayed the early risk, al-
lowing the outbreak to build. Now Beijing is playing catch-up.While China wrestles with the virus, the U.S. must “do more thanwait and hope,” said The Washington Post.
“A crash effort to develop an effective vac-
cine” is the first order of business. Second,
we need to improve diagnostics. A test
result currently takes four or five days; if
infections spike, “the result could be delay,
chaos, and uncertainty.” Hospitals should
plot infection-control measures and stock-
pile protective gear for workers. The invest-
ment in all this will be high, “but less than
the damages if preparedness is ignored.”What the columnists said
Don’t panic, America, said Emily
Baumgaertner in the Los Angeles Times.
Perspective is needed, and right now the
flu—which kills 35,000 Americans a year—is a bigger worry. The
new coronavirus seems to cause only minor symptoms such as
fever and coughing in healthy people. Experts believe many people
may have contracted the virus and had such a mild reaction that
nobody noticed. “All that most Americans need to do is wash their
hands,” cover their mouths when coughing, and carry on as usual.If China is serious about public health, it needs to ban “wet
markets,” said Christian Walzer and Aili Kang in The Wall Street
Journal. At live-animal markets such as the one in Wuhan, farmed
and wild species from around the world are packed tightly together
and sold for human consumption. Viral components are exchanged
between species, creating novel viruses that can be transmitted
from animal to human, “and later mutate so that they can transmit
between humans.” SARS is thought to have originated at a wet
market, and now this new coronavirus, too. If wet markets are al-
lowed to stay in business, another outbreak is inevitable.The Wuhan virus “should be a wake-up call for Congress,” said
Eric Levitz in NYMag.com. Just months ago, researchers at Johns
Hopkins ran a simulation of a hypothetical coronavirus spawned
at a Brazilian pig farm, one that was treatment-resistant and, unlike
the current virus, especially lethal. The result: 65 million dead in
18 months. The U.S. is the wealthiest nation in human history, and
yet the CDC is spending a mere $500 million a year on emerging
diseases. Humanity’s luck in avoiding a deadly pandemic may hold
up a while longer. “But eventually, our good fortune will run out.”Treating coronavirus patients in Wuhan.Re
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Coronavirus cases surge in China and abroad
... and how they were covered^ NEWS 5
It wasn’t all bad QWhen 6-year-old Owen Colley learned that millions of
animals had died in Australia’s devastating bushfires, he
was desperate to do something to help his wild friends. So
together with his parents, the Massachusetts kindergartner
came up with a plan. He would make little clay koalas, which
he would send to each person
who donated $50 or more to
Wildlife Rescue South Coast,
an Australian animal charity.
The Colleys thought they’d
receive a few donations from
friends and family, but then
news of Owen’s initiative went
viral online. He raised $20,
for the charity in a week—and
has now hit $280,000. “Help-
ing animals,” he said, “is better
than watching TV.”QA South Carolina man who is
paralyzed from the waist down
has set a new world record for the
fastest marathon run in a robotic
exoskeleton suit. Adam Gorlitsky,
33, completed the Charleston Mara-
thon in 33 hours, 16 minutes, and
28 seconds—three hours faster than
the previous record. His battery-
powered exoskeleton propels his
legs forward while Gorlitsky uses
his upper body and a pair of walk-
ing poles to maintain his balance.
It’s exhausting work, and Gorlitsky’s
hands were numb for days after
the race. But he’s delighted with his
feat, saying, “Your adversities will
never define who you are.”QAt age 102, Bob Vollmer is finally
ready to put his feet up. After 57
years working as a land surveyor,
Indiana’s oldest state employee will
start his much-delayed retirement
next week. A World War II veteran,
Vollmer joined Indiana’s Department
of Natural Resources in 1963 and
has spent the past six decades tra-
versing the state collecting technical
field data. He says he plans to spend
his retirement working on “some
projects” for his great- grandchildren,
and possibly one for himself too:
“Might build me a new swimming
pool or something like that.” Owen and his in-demand koalas