Threats

The Strongest Evidence Yet That America Is Botching Coronavirus Testing

“I don’t know what went wrong,” a former CDC chief told The Atlantic.

Ideas

We Can Still Avoid the Worst-Case Coronavirus Scenario

The spread of COVID-19 may be inevitable, but the choices we make now will determine how bad the outbreak will get.

Business

F-35 Factory in Japan Shuts Down Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

An F-35 plant in Italy has also been affected by virus-related restrictions.

Ideas

The Official Numbers on the Coronavirus Are Wrong, and Everyone Knows It

Because the U.S. data on coronavirus infections are so deeply flawed, the quantification of the outbreak obscures more than it illuminates.

Ideas

How an AI Sent an Early Warning about the Coronavirus Outbreak

BlueDot’s algorithm draws on news stories, disease-tracking networks, and even airline ticketing. But such tools are hardly foolproof.

Ideas

The US Should Send More, Not Fewer, Troops to West Africa

America’s interests and unique security partnerships in this burgeoning region argue for more help, not less.

Ideas

Epidemics Reveal the Truth of the Societies They Hit

A nation’s response to disaster speaks to its strengths—and to its dysfunctions.

Threats

Missteps at CDC Set Back US Ability to Detect Coronavirus' Spread

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designed a flawed test for COVID-19, then took weeks to release a fix that allowed state and local labs to use it.

Ideas

The Federal Government Needs a Military-Style Campaign Against the Coronavirus

A longtime infectious disease specialist says such campaigns are effective against these kinds of infectious diseases because the way viruses operate fits, conceptually. into a military model.

Ideas

You’re Likely to Get the Coronavirus

Most cases are not life-threatening, which is also what makes the virus a historic challenge to contain.

Ideas

Trump Is Ill-Suited to Respond to the Coronavirus Outbreak

A crisis that is heading into its third month could draw out every personal and managerial failing that the president has shown to this point.

Ideas

China’s Chernobyl Never Seems to Arise

Democracy is unlikely to break out in Beijing, but the coronavirus crisis may create an opening for a softer form of authoritarianism.

Ideas

How China Is Working to Quarantine the Truth About the Coronavirus

The authoritarian playbook — censor, distract, lie — is on full display.

Ideas

As Coronavirus Spreads, China’s Military Is Largely MIA

The PLA’s anemic participation is odd given its past performance, planning, and pronouncements.

Ideas

Under Trump, US Is Less Ready for Infectious Disease Outbreaks Like Coronavirus

The administration has cut CDC funding and disbanded the White House's own global health security team.

Ideas

The US Needs to Whip Its Disaster-Response Plans Into Shape

It's time to digest the lessons of Haiti and Ebola and get ready for the mega disasters ahead.

Science & Tech

Military's Ebola Vaccine Tests Safe

Months of clinical trials have shown a military-supported Ebola vaccine to have 'robust' effectiveness to stop future outbreaks.

Ideas

What To Expect From the African Union Summit

While the African Union's Heads of State Summit concludes this weekend in Ethiopia, here are seven questions observers and participants will have on their minds.

Policy

Back From Midterms, Congress To Take Up NDAA, VA Reform, Ebola and ISIS

Both current and newly elected lawmakers return to Capitol Hill to talk ISIS strategy and take the temperature of the VA's efforts to clean up its act. By Billy House and Rachel Roubein

Science & Tech

How Can Technology Fight Ebola in Off-the-Grid West Africa?

Leveraging technology to combat Ebola in West Africa was always going to be an uphill fight. By Jack Moore