COVID-19

The COVID-19 crisis is a global one, and for all the horror stories from Italy, the United States, and other wealthy countries, the developing world is likely to be hit far harder. Containing, mitigating and curing the disease are truly global challenges, but there has been no effective global response. Yale University’s Hilary Matfess and the University of Chicago’s Rebecca Wolfe examine the crisis to assess what it means for global cooperation and argue that U.S. isolationism and efforts to act solely on its own have made a tough problem even harder.

President Donald Trump recently called on people to “liberate” states whose governors impose strict social distancing requirements, while scolding Georgia’s governor for reopening his state’s economy “too soon.” In early April, when Americans were instructed to wear protective face masks, the president refused, quipping, “I’d wear one if I thought it was important.” And last weekend White House coronavirus task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx indicated social distancing would continue through the summer while Vice President Mike Pence opined that the epidemic would be mostly “behind us” by Memorial Day.

An April study about the effects of coronavirus media coverage analyzed two popular Fox News cable programs — and claims how one host talked about the threat of the coronavirus resulted in greater numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths.