Experts: Travel Bans, Business Closures Could Hurt Economy

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Experts: Travel Bans, Business Closures Could Hurt Economy 

Travel restrictions and business closures aimed at stopping the spread of a new virus that has killed about 300 people in China could end up causing ripple effects that harm the global economy, experts say. 

"When you stop planes and ships, trains and and motor vehicles from moving, it starts to shut down the economy — and that can have a cascading effect throughout society,"  Dr. Eric Toner, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said Saturday. He spoke after multiple airlines announced that they would suspend or cut back on flights to and from China, and several countries, including the U.S., imposed travel restrictions.  

"And it's not just airline pilots who get out of work," he said. "I mean, it's … everybody that they depend on." 

Apple closures

It's not just airlines that have cut back on business in China.  Apple Inc. announced Saturday that it was temporarily closing all of its offices and its 42 stores in mainland China. Google, Amazon and Microsoft previously announced plans to temporarily shutter offices, and Starbucks and McDonald's have closed some outlets. 

Apple said it was acting "out of an abundance of caution and based on the latest advice from leading health experts." Its stores will be closed until February 9. 

Toner said Apple's decision could also be harmful to the economy and Apple itself, though he noted that many companies, including airlines, are trying to protect their employees. 

Toner led a summit in October with the World Economic Forum and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to discuss the negative impacts of trade and travel restrictions during a pandemic. In a paper that came out of that meeting, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security concluded that "fear and uncertainty experienced during past outbreaks, even those limited to a national or regional level, have sometimes led to unjustified border measures." 

The U.S., Australia, Singapore and Japan have imposed travel restrictions and Vietnam suspended all flights to China. U.S. officials pointed to how quickly the virus has spread around the globe as justification, although world health officials have warned against such measures. 

At least 24 countries have reported cases of the new virus, which is from the coronavirus family. 

'More harm than good'

"Travel restrictions can cause more harm than good by hindering info-sharing, medical supply chains and harming economies," World Health Organization Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. 

Since China informed WHO about the new virus in December, at least 24 countries have reported cases. 

Toner said governments are ultimately "trying to do something that has very little benefit but very real harm." 

"It's been shown over and over again that putting up barriers to travel doesn't stop contagious infectious diseases," he said, pointing to past outbreaks of Ebola, Zika and even influenza. 

Instead, he said, governments should educate people about the virus and urge people who may have been exposed to isolate themselves. 

February 02, 2020 at 11:53AM

Emails Show Fallout From Trump's Claims About Dorian

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Emails Show Fallout From Trump's Claims About Dorian 

A flurry of newly released emails from scientists and top officials at the federal agency responsible for weather forecasting clearly illustrates the consternation and outright alarm caused by President Donald Trump's false claim that Hurricane Dorian could hit Alabama. 

A top National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration official even called the president's behavior "crazy." 

What the scientists and officials found even more troubling was a statement later issued by an unnamed NOAA spokesman that supported Trump's claim and repudiated the agency's own forecasters. 

The emails, released late Friday in response to Freedom of Information Act requests from The Associated Press and others, give an inside picture of the scramble to respond to the president and the turmoil it caused inside the federal agency. 

'Flabbergasted'

"What's next? Climate science is a hoax?" Craig McLean, NOAA's acting chief scientist, wrote in an email sent to the agency's top officials. "Flabbergasted to leave our forecasters hanging in the political wind." 

In a more formal letter, McLean wrote that what concerned him most was that the Trump administration "is eroding the public trust in NOAA for an apparent political recovery from an ill-timed and imprecise comment from the president." 

As Dorian headed for the southeastern U.S. in early September, Trump tweeted that Alabama was "most likely to be hit (much) harder than anticipated." The National Weather Service in Birmingham corrected him, tweeting that "Alabama will NOT see any impacts from #Dorian." 

But Trump remained adamant, and NOAA came to his defense with the unsigned statement, which claimed some data provided to the president had indicated that Alabama could be hit by the hurricane and scolded the Birmingham office. The statement was issued after the White House and Commerce Department intervened, the AP and others reported at the time. 

Irate notes

It provoked angry emails from within the agency and from the public. 

Gary Shigenaka, a NOAA scientist, wrote to the agency's acting administrator, Neil Jacobs, asking him to "reassure those of us who serve the public ... that we are not mere pawns in an absurd game." 

In response, Jacobs defended the forecasters and said, "You have no idea how hard I'm fighting to keep politics out of science." 

The whole incident is perhaps best remembered for what became known as Sharpie-gate. In defending himself in the Oval Office, Trump displayed an NOAA map that was altered using a black marker to extend the hurricane's projected path. 

"Apparently the president is convinced that Alabama was in the path of Dorian and someone altered a NOAA map (with a sharpie) to convince folks," NOAA official Makeda Okolo wrote in an email to chief operating officer Benjamin Friedman and others. 

Friedman replied: "Yep, crazy." 

February 02, 2020 at 11:17AM

Global Spread of Coronavirus: Where Is It?

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Global Spread of Coronavirus: Where Is It? 

A virus similar to the SARS pathogen has killed 259 people in China and spread around the world since emerging in a market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. 

On Saturday, China's National Health Commission said nearly 12,000 people had been infected by the novel coronavirus. 

Outside mainland China, there have been more than 100 infections reported in more than 20 countries. 

The World Health Organization has declared an international emergency over the outbreak. 

Here are the places that have confirmed cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus: 

CHINA 

As of Saturday, 11,791 people have been infected across China, the majority in and around Wuhan. 

Most of the 259 who have died were in that region, but officials have confirmed multiple deaths elsewhere, including in Beijing. 

AUSTRALIA 

Twelve patients have been confirmed in Australia. Most of them arrived in the country from Wuhan or Hubei province. 

CAMBODIA 

Cambodia's health ministry has so far reported one case, a 60-year-old man who arrived from Wuhan. 

HONG KONG 

Fourteen people are known to have the disease. 

INDIA 

Officials confirmed the first case in Kerala, southern India, on Thursday. The woman, a student at Wuhan University, was isolated at a hospital. 

JAPAN 

Japan's health ministry reported three new cases on Saturday, bringing the number of infections in the country to 20, including two cases of human-to-human transmission. 

The new cases were three people who returned from Wuhan on government-chartered flights. 

MACAU 

Macau, a gambling hub popular with Chinese mainland tourists, has confirmed seven cases. 

MALAYSIA 

Malaysia has confirmed eight cases, all Chinese nationals. 

NEPAL 

Nepal has reported one case so far: a man who arrived from Wuhan. 

THE PHILIPPINES 

the Philippines reported its first case of the virus on Thursday, a 38-year-old woman who arrived from Wuhan and is no longer showing symptoms. 

SINGAPORE 

Singapore on Saturday announced two new infections, bringing the city-state's total to 18. 

SOUTH KOREA 

South Korea on Saturday confirmed one more case of the virus, a 49-year-old Chinese man who worked as a tour guide in Japan. He arrived in South Korea from Japan on January 19, authorities said. 

The latest case took the total in the country to 12. 

SRI LANKA 

Sri Lanka has confirmed one case, a 43-year-old Chinese tourist from Hubei province. 

TAIWAN 

Taiwan has uncovered 10 cases so far, including two female Chinese nationals in their 70s who arrived in the country as part of a tour group. 

THAILAND 

Thailand has announced 19 confirmed infections. 

VIETNAM 

Vietnam reported one more case on Saturday, taking the total in the country to six. State media said the latest case was a 25-year-old hotel receptionist in central Khanh Hoa province. 

CANADA 

Canada has confirmed four cases. 

UNITED STATES 

The United States has confirmed seven cases: three in California, two in Illinois, one in Arizona and one in Washington state, 

BRITAIN 

British health officials on Friday announced that two people had tested positive for the virus, the country's first confirmed cases. 

FINLAND 

A tourist from Wuhan tested positive for the virus on Wednesday and was being treated in isolation in a hospital, officials said. 

FRANCE 

There are six known cases in France, the first European country to be affected. 

GERMANY 

Germany now has seven confirmed cases. 

ITALY 

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the first two cases in his country on Thursday — two Chinese tourists who recently arrived in Italy. 

RUSSIA 

Russia said Friday that two Chinese citizens had tested positive in the country's first cases. 

SWEDEN 

Sweden on Friday announced its first case, a woman whose nationality has not been revealed. 

SPAIN 

Spain reported its first case late on Friday in a man on the island of La Gomera in the Canaries. He was one of five people isolated after coming into contact with a German man with the illness. 

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 

UAE health officials have confirmed a Chinese family of four tested positive for the virus after arriving from Wuhan. 

February 02, 2020 at 10:48AM