npr--2020-02-29--Democratic Candidates Step Up Criticism Of Trump's Handling Of Coronavirus

Democratic Candidates Step Up Criticism Of Trump 's Handling Of Coronavirus Democratic presidential hopefuls have stepped up their criticism of President Trump 's handling of the coronavirus , accusing his administration of `` incompetence . ''
The president has noticed .
Speaking to supporters Friday night in South Carolina , he accused his Democratic rivals of using the virus for political ends .
`` The Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus , '' Trump said .
`` One of my people came up to me and said , 'Mr .
President , they tried to beat you on Russia , Russia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work out too well .
They could not do it .
They tried the impeachment hoax .
...
They tried anything .
... And this is their new hoax . ''
During the rally , Trump said `` the best professionals in the world '' were working on the nation 's response to the virus .
Trump then held a news conference Saturday , after the first U.S. coronavirus death was confirmed in Washington state .
Trump said a woman in her late 50s has died from a coronavirus infection .
( Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ person who died was a man . )
At the news conference , the Trump administration announced new travel restrictions and advisories for Iran , Italy and South Korea ; and that the U.S. government has contracted with the company 3M to produce 35 million more face masks per month .
Responding to a reporter 's question about his use of the word `` hoax '' the night before , Trump said : `` 'hoax ' referring to the action that [ Democrats ] take to try and pin this on somebody because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The hoax is on them . ''
What the Democrats have said The South Carolina primary is Saturday .
At a campaign event Saturday morning in Greensville , S.C. , former Vice President Joe Biden said it was `` bizarre '' and `` dangerous '' for Trump to have used the word `` hoax '' at all .
In an interview Friday with CNN , Biden said the Trump administration should defer to the experts .
`` Let the experts take this over , '' Biden said .
`` Everyone will have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prices are falling , Biden said , `` is not just the pandemic concern , but the way in which the president is handling this . ''
At every stop in South Carolina on Friday , Vermont Sen Bernie Sanders blasted Trump for focusing on politics instead of the growing coronavirus threat .
`` Everybody knows there is a coronavirus spreading all over the world , '' Sanders said at his first stop of the day , at a church in St. George .
`` You would think that you 'd have a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working with scientists all over the world , bringing people together to figure out how we 're gon na deal with this crisis .
He is here in South Carolina , '' said Sanders , ahead of the Trump campaign rally later that night in Charleston .
`` He does n't even have any opposition in the Republican primary .
Why is he here ?
He 's here to try and disrupt the Democratic primary . ''
The Sanders campaign has also released statements criticizing the Trump administration 's response to the growing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inadequate , misleading , and dangerous . ''
The concerns appeared to be shared by some voters .
A handful of Sanders supporters at rallies Friday were spotted wearing protective face masks .
At campaign stops across Tennessee on Friday , billionaire and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg repeatedly attacked Trump 's management and blamed the president for the upheaval in the stock market .
`` The coronavirus has already arrived here in America , and make no mistake : The incompetence in the White House is endangering lives and hurting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accusing Trump of `` burying his head in the sand '' when he was first briefed on the issue two months ago .
For Bloomberg , who took office three months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks , it 's also a way to remind primary voters concerned about a possible pandemic , or economic unrest , that he was a competent manager in times of crisis .
`` In times like this we need strong , proven leadership in the White House , '' he said .
Bloomberg plans to air a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commercial airtime Sunday night to discuss the virus , and the importance of having a president who can respond appropriately to such crises .
`` This ca n't be about politics .
We 've got to have leadership that puts the input of public health experts first , '' former South Bend , Ind.
, Mayor Pete Buttigieg told CNN Friday .
`` I do n't know where the president got the idea that this is something that could just take care of itself when it got warmer .
This is going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ across the federal government and the interagency ; between the federal government and the private sector as there is a race to find new therapies and perhaps a vaccine ; and internationally , among all of the different authorities and countries , that must be tightly coordinating the response to this issue . ''
Billionaire hedge fund investor and climate activist Tom Steyer has been making increasingly dire warnings about the threat posed by the coronavirus , during his final sprint across the state of South Carolina ahead of the primary .
Steyer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is an indicator of his `` incompetence in a neon sign '' and said that Trump is `` months late to do anything . ''
He also faulted Trump for `` clearing out the Centers for Disease Control [ and Protection ] . ''
But at a packed event in Myrtle Beach , S.C. , his warning was more dire .
`` He 's just discovering two months later , 'Whoa , this could hurt my reelection attempts , ' `` Steyer said .
`` That 's how superficial a man he really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is his Katrina event , where it 's like 'Whoa , I have to do a job ? '
Who knew ? ''
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar has also faulted Trump for proposing to cut funding for the CDC .
Sen. Elizabeth Warren , D-Mass.
, on Thursday introduced legislation that would redirect $ 10 billion of border wall funding to fight the coronavirus .
`` Rather than use taxpayer dollars to pay for a monument to hate and division , my bill will help ensure that the federal government has the resources @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emergency , '' Warren said in a statement .
Warren accused Trump of failing to direct `` significant financial resources '' to the coronavirus response .
The administration has asked Congress for $ 2.5 billion to combat the virus ; many lawmakers feel that 's not enough , and have proposed doubling or even tripling that amount .
The White House acting chief of staff , Mick Mulvaney , accused the press on Friday of playing up the coronavirus story because `` they think this is going to be the thing that brings @ @ @ @ @

Democratic Candidates Step Up Criticism Of Trump's Handling Of Coronavirus
Enlarge this image toggle caption Alex Wong/Getty Images Alex Wong/Getty Images
Democratic presidential hopefuls have stepped up their criticism of President Trump's handling of the coronavirus, accusing his administration of "incompetence."
The president has noticed. Speaking to supporters Friday night in South Carolina, he accused his Democratic rivals of using the virus for political ends.
"The Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus," Trump said. "One of my people came up to me and said, 'Mr. President, they tried to beat you on Russia, Russia, Russia.' That did not work out too well. They could not do it. They tried the impeachment hoax. ... They tried anything. ... And this is their new hoax."
During the rally, Trump said "the best professionals in the world" were working on the nation's response to the virus.
Trump then held a news conference Saturday, after the first U.S. coronavirus death was confirmed in Washington state. Trump said a woman in her late 50s has died from a coronavirus infection. (Washington state public health officials later said the person who died was a man.) At the news conference, the Trump administration announced new travel restrictions and advisories for Iran, Italy and South Korea; and that the U.S. government has contracted with the company 3M to produce 35 million more face masks per month.
Responding to a reporter's question about his use of the word "hoax" the night before, Trump said: " 'hoax' referring to the action that [Democrats] take to try and pin this on somebody because we've done such a good job. The hoax is on them."
What the Democrats have said
The South Carolina primary is Saturday. At a campaign event Saturday morning in Greensville, S.C., former Vice President Joe Biden said it was "bizarre" and "dangerous" for Trump to have used the word "hoax" at all.
In an interview Friday with CNN, Biden said the Trump administration should defer to the experts. "Let the experts take this over," Biden said. "Everyone will have more confidence." One reason stock prices are falling, Biden said, "is not just the pandemic concern, but the way in which the president is handling this."
At every stop in South Carolina on Friday, Vermont Sen Bernie Sanders blasted Trump for focusing on politics instead of the growing coronavirus threat.
"Everybody knows there is a coronavirus spreading all over the world," Sanders said at his first stop of the day, at a church in St. George.
"You would think that you'd have a president of the United States leading, working with scientists all over the world, bringing people together to figure out how we're gonna deal with this crisis. He is here in South Carolina," said Sanders, ahead of the Trump campaign rally later that night in Charleston. "He doesn't even have any opposition in the Republican primary. Why is he here? He's here to try and disrupt the Democratic primary."
The Sanders campaign has also released statements criticizing the Trump administration's response to the growing public health and economic threat as "inadequate, misleading, and dangerous."
The concerns appeared to be shared by some voters. A handful of Sanders supporters at rallies Friday were spotted wearing protective face masks.
At campaign stops across Tennessee on Friday, billionaire and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg repeatedly attacked Trump's management and blamed the president for the upheaval in the stock market.
"The coronavirus has already arrived here in America, and make no mistake: The incompetence in the White House is endangering lives and hurting our economy," Bloomberg said, accusing Trump of "burying his head in the sand" when he was first briefed on the issue two months ago.
For Bloomberg, who took office three months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, it's also a way to remind primary voters concerned about a possible pandemic, or economic unrest, that he was a competent manager in times of crisis.
"In times like this we need strong, proven leadership in the White House," he said. Bloomberg plans to air a three-minute-long video on CBS and NBC during commercial airtime Sunday night to discuss the virus, and the importance of having a president who can respond appropriately to such crises.
"This can't be about politics. We've got to have leadership that puts the input of public health experts first," former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg told CNN Friday."I don't know where the president got the idea that this is something that could just take care of itself when it got warmer. This is going to take sustained coordination, both within and across the federal government and the interagency; between the federal government and the private sector as there is a race to find new therapies and perhaps a vaccine; and internationally, among all of the different authorities and countries, that must be tightly coordinating the response to this issue."
Billionaire hedge fund investor and climate activist Tom Steyer has been making increasingly dire warnings about the threat posed by the coronavirus, during his final sprint across the state of South Carolina ahead of the primary.
Steyer has repeatedly said that Trump's response is an indicator of his "incompetence in a neon sign" and said that Trump is "months late to do anything." He also faulted Trump for "clearing out the Centers for Disease Control [and Protection]."
But at a packed event in Myrtle Beach, S.C., his warning was more dire.
"He's just discovering two months later, 'Whoa, this could hurt my reelection attempts,' " Steyer said. "That's how superficial a man he really is. He is incompetent. This is his Katrina event, where it's like 'Whoa, I have to do a job?' Who knew?"
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar has also faulted Trump for proposing to cut funding for the CDC.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., on Thursday introduced legislation that would redirect $10 billion of border wall funding to fight the coronavirus.
"Rather than use taxpayer dollars to pay for a monument to hate and division, my bill will help ensure that the federal government has the resources it needs to adequately respond to this emergency," Warren said in a statement.
Warren accused Trump of failing to direct "significant financial resources" to the coronavirus response. The administration has asked Congress for $2.5 billion to combat the virus; many lawmakers feel that's not enough, and have proposed doubling or even tripling that amount.
The White House acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, accused the press on Friday of playing up the coronavirus story because "they think this is going to be the thing that brings down the president."


npr--2020-03-01--Pete Buttigieg To Suspend Presidential Campaign

Pete Buttigieg , the 38-year-old who rose from being mayor of a midsize Indiana city to mounting a serious presidential run , is set to suspend his bid for the White House , a senior campaign aide confirms to NPR .
Buttigieg , an openly gay Navy Reserve veteran , will suspend his campaign in a speech Sunday night back in his hometown of South Bend , Ind.
, the aide says .
Buttigieg is set to depart the Democratic race third in overall delegates , behind Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden .
The announcement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in South Carolina 's Democratic primary , the party 's fourth nominating contest .
Buttigieg had finished in a virtual tie in Iowa 's caucuses , then second in New Hampshire and third in Nevada .
Iowa and New Hampshire are predominately white states , but Buttigieg struggled to attract support in the more diverse states of Nevada and South Carolina .
According to exit polls , he earned the backing of just 3 % of African American voters in South Carolina ; black voters made up a majority of the Democratic electorate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' in his Twitter bio for his complicated name , and was known colloquially as `` Mayor Pete . ''
He was one of the youngest Democratic candidates seeking the nomination and the first openly gay candidate to mount a major campaign for the presidency .
A graduate of Harvard and Oxford and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan , Buttigieg spent eight years in office in South Bend , and gained national recognition in 2017 during an unsuccessful bid to serve as chairman of the Democratic National Committee .
When he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year , Buttigieg was perceived as a little-known long shot focused on what he calls `` inter-generational justice , '' but he quickly emerged among the front-runners in the crowded Democratic field with his moderate , future-focused message .
An adept debater , Buttigieg often clashed onstage with Sanders and fellow progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren ( D-Mass . )
, and criticized their sweeping `` Medicare for all '' health care proposals .
But Buttigieg also faced scrutiny over his brief tenure at the consulting firm McKinsey & Company , prompting his release @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former clients .
He also faced pressure to open his fundraisers to reporters and provide more information about the people raising money for his presidential campaign .
Speaking to NPR 's Steve Inskeep in January 2019 , he said he understood his campaign was an `` underdog project . ''
`` But I also do n't think that you should ever run for any office that you do not seek to win , '' he said .
Buttigieg 's departure will leave six candidates in the race , after billionaire Tom Steyer ended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ youngest male candidate is now 77-year-old former Vice President Joe Biden . ''

'We Sent A Message': Pete Buttigieg Ends Historic Presidential Bid
Enlarge this image toggle caption Scott Olson/Getty Images Scott Olson/Getty Images
Updated at 10 p.m. ET
Pete Buttigieg, the 38-year-old who rose from mayor of a midsize Indiana city to a serious presidential contender, officially suspended his campaign on Sunday evening.
"The truth is that the path has narrowed to a close," Buttigieg told a crowd in his hometown of South Bend, Ind., after an introduction by his husband, Chasten. "We have a responsibility to consider the effect of remaining in this race any further."
An openly gay Navy Reserve veteran, Buttigieg departs the Democratic race third in overall delegates, behind Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden.
On Sunday night, Buttigieg thanked supporters for the campaign they helped build and said that effort to usher in a new generation of politics will continue.
"I firmly believe that in these years, in our time, we can and we will make American life and politics more like what it could be — not just more wise and more prosperous, but more equitable and more just and more decent," he said, as supporters cheered and chanted "BOOT-EDGE-EGE."
Before Buttigieg took the stage, his husband, Chasten, gave an emotional speech, emphasizing the historic weight of the campaign and the significance of the first openly gay candidate to make a serious run at a major party's nomination for president. His voice wavered at several points, and he paused to wipe tears.
"Life gave me some interesting experiences on my way to find Pete," he said. "After falling in love with Pete, Pete got me to believe in myself again. And I told Pete to run because I knew there were other kids sitting out there in this country who needed to believe in themselves, too."
Buttigieg recognized that significance, too.
"We sent a message to every kid out there, wondering if whatever marks them out as different means they are somehow destined to be less than, to see that someone who once felt that exact same way can become a leading presidential candidate with his husband at his side," he said.
The announcement came a day after Buttigieg finished fourth in South Carolina's Democratic primary, the party's fourth nominating contest. Buttigieg had finished in a virtual tie in Iowa's caucuses, then second in New Hampshire and third in Nevada.
Iowa and New Hampshire are predominantly white states, but Buttigieg struggled to attract support in the more diverse states of Nevada and South Carolina. According to exit polls, he earned the backing of just 3% of African American voters in South Carolina; black voters made up a majority of the Democratic electorate in Saturday's primary.
Buttigieg spent the final day of his campaign meeting with former President Jimmy Carter in Georgia, and then marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., an annual commemoration of Bloody Sunday. He said walking in the shadow of civil rights giants had him thinking about how the nation might now try to live up to their example.
Buttigieg's departure could help boost Biden, who has been competing for some of the same moderate voters and is trying to catch up to Sanders' delegate lead on Super Tuesday.
The Sanders campaign is pushing back on the idea that the shake-up hurts Sanders more than anyone else.
"His supporters are going to be more up for grabs," Sanders' campaign manager, Faiz Shakir, told NPR. "I think people are far more complicated in their ideology than pundits like to suggest."
Buttigieg made the announcement at the Century Center in South Bend, the venue where he held a launch event for his book last February before jumping into the race. Back then, there was no national press — mostly local South Bend television affiliates. A year later, Buttigieg outlasted most of a crowded Democratic field and often drew rally crowds that topped 1,000.
On Sunday night, the former mayor joked about his relative anonymity when he decided to run last year: "Hardly anybody knew my name, and even fewer could pronounce it. First name Mayor, last name Pete."
A graduate of Harvard and Oxford and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, Buttigieg spent eight years in office in South Bend and gained national recognition in 2017 during an unsuccessful bid to serve as chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
When he first announced his candidacy for president last year, Buttigieg was perceived as a little-known long shot focused on what he calls "intergenerational justice," but he quickly emerged among the front-runners in the crowded Democratic field with his moderate, future-focused message.
An adept debater, Buttigieg often clashed onstage with Sanders and fellow progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., criticizing their sweeping "Medicare for All" health care proposals. Buttigieg also warned that Sanders' self-avowed democratic socialism would harm down-ballot Democrats.
But Buttigieg was dogged by questions about his handling of high-profile racial incidents involving the police during his tenure as mayor. He also faced scrutiny over his brief tenure at the consulting firm McKinsey, prompting the release of a list of nine of his former clients. And fellow candidates pressured him to open his fundraisers to reporters and provide more information about the people raising money for his presidential campaign.
But before that, speaking to NPR's Steve Inskeep in January 2019, he said he understood his campaign was an "underdog project."
"But I also don't think that you should ever run for any office that you do not seek to win," he said.
In a statement Sunday night, Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David said the former South Bend mayor's candidacy made history.
"Mayor Buttigieg ran an incredible campaign that broke glass ceilings and inspired countless LGBTQ people to run for office and enter public service," he wrote. "His history-making, open and honest campaign gave representation to a community that has been for long far too long pushed out of the spotlight. He gave a voice to millions across the country, to issues often ignored."
Buttigieg's departure will leave six candidates in the race, after billionaire Tom Steyer ended his bid on Saturday night. The youngest male candidate is now 77-year-old Joe Biden.
With additional reporting by NPR's Asma Khalid and Scott Detrow


npr--2020-03-01--Hong Kong Has Contained Coronavirus So Far — But At A Significant Cost

Hong Kong Has Contained Coronavirus So Far — But At A Significant Cost As the U.S. and much of the world deals with the arrival of COVID-19 , one place that 's managed to limit the spread of the disease is Hong Kong .
Hong Kong sits right up against China 's Guangdong Province , which has had more than 1,300 cases , the second largest number on the mainland after Hubei .
But Hong Kong has seen fewer than 100 cases since the outbreak began , and so far its strategies to contain the coronavirus have prevented large-scale outbreaks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Italy and South Korea .
The suppression of the disease in Hong Kong , however , has come at a steep cost to the city .
Schools are closed .
Many businesses are shuttered .
All train , bus and ferry service to mainland China is suspended , and the border with China is essentially shut down .
People keep their distance from each other .
Almost everyone on the street wears a surgical mask .
Some even wear gas masks .
Few people shake hands .
And some residents are hunkering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ North Point neighborhood , 48-year-old Carina Zhang says she only ventures out once or twice a week to buy vegetables and other perishable groceries .
When she does go out , she tries to not have any skin exposed in an effort to protect herself against the virus .
She wears a face mask , wraparound sunglasses and a large cloth hat that flops over her ears and shields much of her face .
Finally she slips on disposable plastic gloves that she tapes around her wrists .
`` And when I return @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says .
She washes her hair , her clothes .
Everything , she says .
She has n't allowed her 8-year-old son or her live-in housekeeper to leave her apartment for weeks , she says .
Zhang quickly adds that she pays her maid extra as a result of her no-leaving-the-house rule .
Zhang 's self-isolation is similar to the way millions of people are living in locked-down cities in China right now , but it 's more extreme than what most people in Hong Kong are doing .
The centerpiece of Hong @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down suspected cases and quickly quarantining anyone who 's potentially been exposed .
At one point in February , the city had nearly 12,000 people in various forms of quarantine .
Some are held in what used to be summer camps , others in a just-completed complex of public housing towers .
Some are electronically monitored at home .
`` I think Hong Kong is an excellent example of why we can think that these methods work , '' says Keiji Fukuda , who helped lead the World Health Organization 's response to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is now the director of the School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong .
`` Just a few miles away across the border , we have much larger numbers of cases , '' Fukuda points out .
`` And yet in Hong Kong , we see that over the past five weeks or six weeks the number of cases has remained remarkably small .
So I think [ Hong Kong ] is a really good example where I believe that we 're seeing [ that ] social distancing measures , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
To try to contain the spread of the virus , officials from the Hong Kong health department every day announce the addresses and occupations of people newly diagnosed with COVID-19 .
And then they call on residents who may have had contact with those people to come forward .
But obstacles loom .
At a press briefing last week , Dr. Chuang Shuk-kwan , head of the communicable disease branch of the Hong Kong health department , lamented that her department was having trouble connecting with people who may have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ temple where several visitors had tested positive and where the virus was also found on prayerbooks and the bathroom faucet .
`` For the temple unfortunately we do n't have a list [ of people ] because there 's no registration . ''
In addition to prayer services , the temple offered free meals to elderly residents , but it had no record of who had come to eat .
In this instance , dozens of people who 'd been there called the health department 's coronavirus hotline .
`` And so we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` categorized them into close contacts [ of earlier cases ] and those who have passed their incubation period .
We put around 16 of them under quarantine and about 100 of them under medical surveillance . ''
That same day Chuang 's department was trying to find spaces in the city 's already overstretched quarantine centers for 59 police officers .
The cops had all attended a going away banquet with an officer who reportedly was feverish with COVID-19 .
Dirk Pfeiffer , a veterinarian at City University of Hong Kong who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thinks the city has handled the outbreak reasonably well .
But Pfeiffer is troubled by the way the outbreak is dominating life in Hong Kong and causing so much fear .
`` I find that disturbing , '' he says .
`` Because I do n't think our reaction is proportionate to the impact it has on human health . ''
He points out that in the first two months of this outbreak two people in Hong Kong died from COVID-19 while more than 100 died from the flu .
`` At the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ focused on COVID-19 , '' he says .
`` Certainly here in Hong Kong , there 's people that turn up [ at hospitals ] with other ailments or diseases , and it 's difficult for them to get into the emergency wards .
We need to get the balance right . ''
As more and more countries grapple with COVID-19 , they 're going to have to try to get that balance right too .

Hong Kong Has Contained Coronavirus So Far — But At A Significant Cost
Enlarge this image toggle caption Vernon Yuen for NPR Vernon Yuen for NPR
As the U.S. and much of the world deals with the arrival of COVID-19, one place that's managed to limit the spread of the disease is Hong Kong.
Hong Kong sits right up against China's Guangdong Province, which has had more than 1,300 cases, the second largest number on the mainland after Hubei.
But Hong Kong has seen fewer than 100 cases since the outbreak began, and so far its strategies to contain the coronavirus have prevented large-scale outbreaks that have happened in countries like Iran, Italy and South Korea.
The suppression of the disease in Hong Kong, however, has come at a steep cost to the city.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Vernon Yuen for NPR Vernon Yuen for NPR
Schools are closed. Many businesses are shuttered. All train, bus and ferry service to mainland China is suspended, and the border with China is essentially shut down.
People keep their distance from each other. Almost everyone on the street wears a surgical mask. Some even wear gas masks. Few people shake hands.
And some residents are hunkering down in their apartments.
In the North Point neighborhood, 48-year-old Carina Zhang says she only ventures out once or twice a week to buy vegetables and other perishable groceries. When she does go out, she tries to not have any skin exposed in an effort to protect herself against the virus. She wears a face mask, wraparound sunglasses and a large cloth hat that flops over her ears and shields much of her face. Finally she slips on disposable plastic gloves that she tapes around her wrists.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Vernon Yuen for NPR Vernon Yuen for NPR
"And when I return home I wash immediately," she says. She washes her hair, her clothes. Everything, she says.
She hasn't allowed her 8-year-old son or her live-in housekeeper to leave her apartment for weeks, she says. Zhang quickly adds that she pays her maid extra as a result of her no-leaving-the-house rule.
Zhang's self-isolation is similar to the way millions of people are living in locked-down cities in China right now, but it's more extreme than what most people in Hong Kong are doing.
The centerpiece of Hong Kong's containment strategy is aggressively tracking down suspected cases and quickly quarantining anyone who's potentially been exposed. At one point in February, the city had nearly 12,000 people in various forms of quarantine. Some are held in what used to be summer camps, others in a just-completed complex of public housing towers. Some are electronically monitored at home.
"I think Hong Kong is an excellent example of why we can think that these methods work," says Keiji Fukuda, who helped lead the World Health Organization's response to the West Africa Ebola outbreak. Fukuda is now the director of the School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Jason Beaubien/NPR Jason Beaubien/NPR
"Just a few miles away across the border, we have much larger numbers of cases," Fukuda points out. "And yet in Hong Kong, we see that over the past five weeks or six weeks the number of cases has remained remarkably small. So I think [Hong Kong] is a really good example where I believe that we're seeing [that] social distancing measures, personal hygiene measures really, really work."
To try to contain the spread of the virus, officials from the Hong Kong health department every day announce the addresses and occupations of people newly diagnosed with COVID-19. And then they call on residents who may have had contact with those people to come forward.
But obstacles loom. At a press briefing last week, Dr. Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Hong Kong health department, lamented that her department was having trouble connecting with people who may have been exposed to the virus at a Buddhist temple where several visitors had tested positive and where the virus was also found on prayerbooks and the bathroom faucet.
"For the temple unfortunately we don't have a list [of people] because there's no registration."
Enlarge this image toggle caption Vernon Yuen for NPR Vernon Yuen for NPR
In addition to prayer services, the temple offered free meals to elderly residents, but it had no record of who had come to eat. In this instance, dozens of people who'd been there called the health department's coronavirus hotline.
"And so we contacted them," Chuang says, "categorized them into close contacts [of earlier cases] and those who have passed their incubation period. We put around 16 of them under quarantine and about 100 of them under medical surveillance."
Enlarge this image toggle caption Jason Beaubien/NPR Jason Beaubien/NPR
That same day Chuang's department was trying to find spaces in the city's already overstretched quarantine centers for 59 police officers. The cops had all attended a going away banquet with an officer who reportedly was feverish with COVID-19.
Dirk Pfeiffer, a veterinarian at City University of Hong Kong who studies emerging infectious diseases, says he thinks the city has handled the outbreak reasonably well. But Pfeiffer is troubled by the way the outbreak is dominating life in Hong Kong and causing so much fear.
"I find that disturbing," he says. "Because I don't think our reaction is proportionate to the impact it has on human health."
He points out that in the first two months of this outbreak two people in Hong Kong died from COVID-19 while more than 100 died from the flu.
"At the moment, I worry that everything is focused on COVID-19," he says. "Certainly here in Hong Kong, there's people that turn up [at hospitals] with other ailments or diseases, and it's difficult for them to get into the emergency wards. We need to get the balance right."
As more and more countries grapple with COVID-19, they're going to have to try to get that balance right too.


npr--2020-03-01--Afghan President Rejects Timeline For Prisoner Swap Proposed In US-Taliban Peace Deal

Afghanistan 's president publicly rejected the timeline for a prisoner swap with the Taliban on Sunday , just one day after the United States signed a peace deal with the militant Islamist group that proposes a March 10 deadline for an exchange of prisoners .
The peace deal , more than a year in the making , aims to end the longest war in American history .
Signed Saturday in Doha , Qatar , the agreement calls for the full withdrawal of American troops and supporting civilian personnel , including those of its allies , from Afghanistan within 14 months @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forces in the country , tasked with counter-terrorism efforts , training Afghan troops and providing air support for Afghan ground forces .
The deal also outlined the release of up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners by the Afghan government in exchange for up to 1,000 Afghan security forces held prisoner by the Taliban .
The swap is intended as a confidence building measure ahead of talks between the Taliban and Afghanistan 's government , slated to begin around mid-March in Oslo , Norway .
The talks are intended to achieve a lasting ceasefire and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ role for the Taliban in the country 's future .
But on Sunday , Afghan President Ashraf Ghani told a news conference in Kabul , Afghanistan , that a prisoner release was not a promise the United States could make , according to The Associated Press .
`` The request has been made by the United States for the release of prisoners and it can be part of the negotiations but it can not be a precondition , '' said Ghani .
The Afghan president 's statements are an early potential setback for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ signed by U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad and the head of the Taliban , Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar .
They also underscore a point that many observers have long predicted : that the most challenging step in the peace process will be reaching an agreement between the Afghans themselves and the Taliban .
Before Ghani announced his rejection of the prisoner exchange timeline , a State Department official told NPR both the numbers of prisoners and the timeline for their release are `` aspirational '' and will depend on `` Taliban performance .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Face the Nation '' on Sunday , U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Trump administration is hopeful negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban will begin in the coming days , but acknowledged it would be `` rocky and bumpy . ''
`` No one is under any false illusion that this wo n't be a difficult conversation , '' said Pompeo .
If the deal holds , it could be a historic step forward .
A U.S.-led military coalition invaded Afghanistan shortly after the attacks on Sept. 11 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had been ruling the country for five years , were subsequently overthrown — reprisal for having provided safe harbor to Osama bin Laden , the leader of al-Qaida .
In the 18 years since , more than 2,400 Americans have died in Afghanistan .
A 2019 United Nations report estimated that 32,000 Afghan civilians had died in the past decade .
The war is estimated to have cost nearly $ 1 trillion .
President Donald Trump has called the conflict in Afghanistan one of America 's `` endless wars , '' and vowed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But like his predecessors , Trump has been stymied in that effort .
Within months of taking office , the president added 4,000 U.S. troops to the forces already deployed in Afghanistan .
According to Saturday 's agreement , the United States is set to start the draw-down process by reducing its troop levels to 8,600 within 135 days , bringing the numbers back to roughly where they were under President Barack Obama .
The remaining forces would leave within the following nine and a half months .
How realistic that timeline @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Taliban to stop attacks , break with al-Qaida and open talks with Afghan officials .
Speaking to reporters from the White House on Saturday , President Trump expressed confidence in the process but warned that `` If bad things happen , we 'll go back . ''

Afghan President Rejects Timing Of Prisoner Swap Proposed In U.S.-Taliban Peace Deal
Enlarge this image toggle caption Rahmat Gul/AP Rahmat Gul/AP
Afghanistan's president publicly rejected the timeline for a prisoner swap with the Taliban on Sunday, just one day after the United States signed a peace deal with the militant Islamist group that proposes a March 10 deadline for an exchange of prisoners.
The peace deal, more than a year in the making, aims to end the longest war in American history.
Signed Saturday in Doha, Qatar, the agreement calls for the full withdrawal of American troops and supporting civilian personnel, including those of its allies, from Afghanistan within 14 months. There are currently about 12,000 U.S. forces in the country, tasked with counter-terrorism efforts, training Afghan troops and providing air support for Afghan ground forces.
The deal also outlined the release of up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners by the Afghan government in exchange for up to 1,000 Afghan security forces held prisoner by the Taliban.
The swap is intended as a confidence building measure ahead of talks between the Taliban and Afghanistan's government, slated to begin around mid-March in Oslo, Norway. The talks are intended to achieve a lasting ceasefire and a political settlement that would establish a role for the Taliban in the country's future.
But on Sunday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani told a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, that a prisoner release was not a promise the United States could make, according to The Associated Press. "The request has been made by the United States for the release of prisoners and it can be part of the negotiations but it cannot be a precondition," said Ghani.
The Afghan president's statements are an early potential setback for the U.S. peace deal, which was signed by U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad and the head of the Taliban, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. They also underscore a point that many observers have long predicted: that the most challenging step in the peace process will be reaching an agreement between the Afghans themselves and the Taliban.
Before Ghani announced his rejection of the prisoner exchange timeline, a State Department official told NPR both the numbers of prisoners and the timeline for their release are "aspirational" and will depend on "Taliban performance."
In an interview with CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Trump administration is hopeful negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban will begin in the coming days, but acknowledged it would be "rocky and bumpy."
"No one is under any false illusion that this won't be a difficult conversation," said Pompeo.
If the deal holds, it could be a historic step forward.
A U.S.-led military coalition invaded Afghanistan shortly after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The Taliban, which had been ruling the country for five years, were subsequently overthrown — reprisal for having provided safe harbor to Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaida.
In the 18 years since, more than 2,400 Americans have died in Afghanistan. A 2019 United Nations report estimated that 32,000 Afghan civilians had died in the past decade. The war is estimated to have cost nearly $1 trillion.
President Donald Trump has called the conflict in Afghanistan one of America's "endless wars," and vowed to bring the war to a close. But like his predecessors, Trump has been stymied in that effort. Within months of taking office, the president added 4,000 U.S. troops to the forces already deployed in Afghanistan.
According to Saturday's agreement, the United States is set to start the draw-down process by reducing its troop levels to 8,600 within 135 days, bringing the numbers back to roughly where they were under President Barack Obama. The remaining forces would leave within the following nine and a half months.
How realistic that timeline is could depend on security guarantees by the Taliban to stop attacks, break with al-Qaida and open talks with Afghan officials. Speaking to reporters from the White House on Saturday, President Trump expressed confidence in the process but warned that "If bad things happen, we'll go back."


npr--2020-03-01--Jack Dorsey, Twitter's Eccentric CEO, Could Be Looking For A Job Soon

Jack Dorsey , Twitter 's Eccentric CEO , Could Be Looking For A Job Soon Jack Dorsey is n't your regular CEO .
He often says and does things that raise eyebrows .
Now , one large investor has had enough .
The powerful hedge fund Elliott Management has bought a sizable stake in Twitter in hopes of bringing change .
Elliott is concerned that Dorsey has n't focused enough on Twitter , because he is also chief executive of payments company Square .
The hedge fund is pushing for a CEO whose sole job is running Twitter .
To @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has nominated four directors to the company 's board , according to two people familiar with the matter .
The two sides have had constructive talks , according to the people , who were not authorized to speak publicly .
Twitter and Elliott declined to comment .
The worry is that under Dorsey 's leadership , Twitter is not poised to capitalize on a flood of news this year , including the U.S. presidential election , the summer Olympic Games in Tokyo and the coronavirus outbreak , that could attract people and advertisers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has brought attention to himself for many things beyond his unusual twin CEO jobs , which have him splitting his time between Twitter and Square .
He recently tweeted that he is moving to Africa for three to six months in 2020 .
He told Wired Magazine he eats just one meal a day and tries to spend two hours a day meditating .
In 2018 , he got a lot of criticism over a silent meditation retreat he went on in Myanmar .
He tweeted that during the 10-day `` vipassana '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ devices , reading , writing , physical excercise ( sic ) , music , intoxicants , meat , talking , or even eye contact . ''
As Dorsey tweets about his life choices , investors have become restless about whether he 's the right CEO to lead Twitter .
The company has struggled to grow its business at the same pace as its biggest competitors in Silicon Valley .
That includes the much-larger Facebook , as well as newer apps like Snapchat and TikTok that are popular with young people .
While Twitter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is popular among celebrities , the media and political figures , notably President Donald Trump , critics say it has been slow to innovate .
It has also struggled with misinformation and handling abusive users and trolls .
Twitter 's quarterly revenue , mainly from ads , passed $ 1 billion for the first time at the end of last year .
Facebook , by contrast , reported $ 21 billion in sales in the same quarter , and has billions of users .
Twitter 's shares are worth less now than they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2015 .
He was the company 's founding CEO , but left in 2008 after a falling out with another co-founder .
`` I think product development has been anemic , '' said Scott Galloway , a marketing professor at NYU who bought Twitter shares because he thought it was undervalued .
`` I think their business model is flawed , But more than anything , you know , the lowest lying fruit here is to find a full time CEO . ''
Dorsey 's Africa plans spurred Galloway to write a letter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on them to replace Dorsey .
Galloway said he never got a response , and has since sold all his shares .
In Elliott , Twitter faces a much more formidable antagonist .
The hedge fund manages nearly $ 40 billion in assets and has made a name for itself taking on big companies .
It has successfully pushed for changes at eBay and AT & T , and it recently took a stake in SoftBank , the Japanese conglomerate .
`` Elliott is pretty notorious for being activist , '' said Michael @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` Their history has been to pick battles that they think they can win . ''

Jack Dorsey, Twitter's Eccentric CEO, Could Be Looking For A Job Soon
Enlarge this image toggle caption Drew Angerer/Getty Images Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Jack Dorsey isn't your regular CEO. He often says and does things that raise eyebrows.
Now, one large investor has had enough. The powerful hedge fund Elliott Management has bought a sizable stake in Twitter in hopes of bringing change to the social media company.
Elliott is concerned that Dorsey hasn't focused enough on Twitter, because he is also chief executive of payments company Square. The hedge fund is pushing for a CEO whose sole job is running Twitter.
Adding pressure, Elliott has nominated four directors to the company's board, according to two people familiar with the matter. The two sides have had constructive talks, according to the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly. Twitter and Elliott declined to comment.
The worry is that under Dorsey's leadership, Twitter is not poised to capitalize on a flood of news this year, including the U.S. presidential election, the summer Olympic Games in Tokyo and the coronavirus outbreak, that could attract people and advertisers to the platform.
The soft-spoken Dorsey has brought attention to himself for many things beyond his unusual twin CEO jobs, which have him splitting his time between Twitter and Square.
He recently tweeted that he is moving to Africa for three to six months in 2020. He told Wired Magazine he eats just one meal a day and tries to spend two hours a day meditating. In 2018, he got a lot of criticism over a silent meditation retreat he went on in Myanmar. He tweeted that during the 10-day "vipassana" retreat, he stayed away from "devices, reading, writing, physical excercise (sic), music, intoxicants, meat, talking, or even eye contact."
As Dorsey tweets about his life choices, investors have become restless about whether he's the right CEO to lead Twitter.
The company has struggled to grow its business at the same pace as its biggest competitors in Silicon Valley. That includes the much-larger Facebook, as well as newer apps like Snapchat and TikTok that are popular with young people.
While Twitter has hundreds of millions of users and is popular among celebrities, the media and political figures, notably President Donald Trump, critics say it has been slow to innovate. It has also struggled with misinformation and handling abusive users and trolls.
Twitter's quarterly revenue, mainly from ads, passed $1 billion for the first time at the end of last year. Facebook, by contrast, reported $21 billion in sales in the same quarter, and has billions of users.
Twitter's shares are worth less now than they were when Dorsey returned as CEO in 2015. He was the company's founding CEO, but left in 2008 after a falling out with another co-founder.
"I think product development has been anemic," said Scott Galloway, a marketing professor at NYU who bought Twitter shares because he thought it was undervalued. "I think their business model is flawed, But more than anything, you know, the lowest lying fruit here is to find a full time CEO."
Dorsey's Africa plans spurred Galloway to write a letter to Twitter's board in December calling on them to replace Dorsey. Galloway said he never got a response, and has since sold all his shares.
In Elliott, Twitter faces a much more formidable antagonist. The hedge fund manages nearly $40 billion in assets and has made a name for itself taking on big companies. It has successfully pushed for changes at eBay and AT&T, and it recently took a stake in SoftBank, the Japanese conglomerate.
"Elliott is pretty notorious for being activist," said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities. "Their history has been to pick battles that they think they can win."


npr--2020-03-01--As Testing Quickly Ramps Up, Expect More U.S. Coronavirus Cases

As Testing Quickly Ramps Up , Expect More U.S. Coronavirus Cases As labs across the United States quickly ramp up their ability to test for the novel coronavirus , public health officials are anxiously awaiting results that could start to reveal its secret movements around the country .
`` We now have 75,000 tests available out there in the United States , and over the next week that will expand radically , '' said Alex Azar , Secretary of Health and Human Services , on ABC 's This Week .
`` Right now , it 's important that we test @ @ @ @ @ @ @ illness — respiratory symptoms -- that is unidentified , '' Azar said .
He said more than 3,600 people have been tested so far nationwide .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , which provides testing and also confirms positive test results from state labs , says it has run fewer than 500 tests .
More testing is sure to find more people with the virus—at least , those people who have been sickened by it .
This surge in testing wo n't be able to tell how many people are infected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Becker , the head of the Association of Public Health Laboratories , says that more than 40 public health labs should be able to test for the virus by the end of the weekend .
Over the next week , he added , that number should grow to more than 100 labs , as the CDC sends out more test kits .
Initially , limited testing capacity meant the CDC did n't advise testing sick people unless they had a history of travel to affected countries or contact with a known COVID-19 case @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around the country had a problem with one ingredient that resulted in delays .
`` I certainly do wish that the testing was available sooner .
There was this very unfortunate challenge in the production process and it did put us a few weeks behind , '' Becker told NPR .
He noted that the availability of more testing and expanding who is eligible for that testing means that `` we are going to start to see more and more cases pop up across the country . ''
`` We 'll have a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on with the virus here in America , '' he said .
Washington state reported the first death from coronavirus on Saturday : a man in his 50s with pre-exiting health conditions but no history of travel .
The state is also investigating an apparent outbreak in a nursing care center in Kirkland , Wash .
There , two people have tested positive and more than 50 residents and health care workers are reportedly ill with respiratory symptoms .
`` Additional positive cases are expected , '' according to the local department of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two more cases in two additional medical centers .
Both were men with underling health conditions who were in critical but stable condition .
A genetic analysis of viral strains from Washington state suggests that the virus has been circulating there for around six weeks , and the outbreak might involve hundreds of people , according to Trevor Bedford , a scientist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle who studies virus evolution .
Possible community spread has also been reported in California , where officials found the virus in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exposure .
So far , there are more than 70 known cases of the coronavirus in the U. S. , and most of them are people repatriated from China or the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship .
Worldwide , the virus has been reported in more than 50 countries , with Mexico recently reporting its first cases .
There 's been over 85,000 cases , with around 6,000 of those outside of China .
More than 2,800 people with the virus have died .

As Testing Quickly Ramps Up, Expect More U.S. Coronavirus Cases
Enlarge this image toggle caption Elaine Thompson/AP Elaine Thompson/AP
Updated at 10:21 p.m ET
As labs across the United States quickly ramp up their ability to test for the novel coronavirus, public health officials are anxiously awaiting results that could start to reveal its secret movements around the country.
New cases of the coronavirus were identified in at least four states on Sunday: New York, Rhode Island, California and Washington.
"We now have 75,000 tests available out there in the United States, and over the next week that will expand radically," said Alex Azar, secretary of health and human services, on ABC's This Week.
"Right now, it's important that we test people who have any type of respiratory illness — respiratory symptoms — that is unidentified," Azar said.
He said more than 3,600 people have been tested so far nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which provides testing and also confirms positive test results from state labs, says it has run fewer than 500 tests.
More testing is sure to find more people with the virus — at least, those people who have been sickened by it. This surge in testing won't be able to tell how many people are infected but not showing symptoms.
Scott Becker, the head of the Association of Public Health Laboratories, says that more than 40 public health labs should be able to test for the virus by the end of the weekend.
Over the next week, he added, that number should grow to more than 100 labs, as the CDC sends out more test kits.
Initially, limited testing capacity meant the CDC didn't advise testing sick people unless they had a history of travel to affected countries or contact with a known COVID-19 case. And test kits sent to labs around the country had a problem with one ingredient that resulted in delays.
"I certainly do wish that the testing was available sooner. There was this very unfortunate challenge in the production process and it did put us a few weeks behind," Becker told NPR.
He noted that the availability of more testing and expanding who is eligible for that testing means that "we are going to start to see more and more cases pop up across the country."
"We'll have a much greater understanding of what's going on with the virus here in America," he said.
Washington state reported the first death from coronavirus on Saturday: a man in his 50s with preexisting health conditions but no history of travel.
Officials reported a second death on Sunday, which they believe is connected to an apparent outbreak in a nursing care center in Kirkland, Wash. There, at least two people have tested positive and more than 50 residents and health care workers are reportedly ill with respiratory symptoms. "Additional positive cases are expected," according to the local department of health.
On Sunday, it reported two more cases in two additional medical centers. Both were men with underlying health conditions who were in critical but stable condition.
A genetic analysis of viral strains from Washington state suggests that the virus has been circulating there for about six weeks, and the outbreak might involve hundreds of people, according to Trevor Bedford, a scientist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle who studies virus evolution.
Possible community spread has also been reported in California, where officials found the virus in a person with no relevant travel history or exposure.
So far, there are more than 70 known cases of the coronavirus in the U. S., and most of them are people repatriated from China or the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
Worldwide, the virus has been reported in more than 50 countries, with Mexico recently reporting its first cases. There have been more than 85,000 cases with about 6,000 of those outside China. More than 2,800 people with the virus have died.
NPR's Rob Stein contributed to this report.


npr--2020-03-01--Airport Workers Fear They're Unprotected From The Coronavirus

After passengers filed off a flight from China five weeks ago , cabin cleaners at the Los Angeles International Airport were sent in to clean the plane .
One of the workers , fearing she might contract the coronavirus , refused .
`` I was scared to death , '' said Barbara Gomez of Inglewood , Calif. `` I start crying . ''
Gomez said her boss told her that if she did n't board the plane , her job would be on the line .
Still , she refused .
`` Then the other manager came out of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And he says , 'Do you know , that over 200 people are going to be boarding this aircraft in the morning . '
I say , ' I do n't care .
Barbara Gomez is not going on the aircraft !
You know , this is about my health . '
`` In the end , Barbara Gomez did not get on the plane .
She was eventually reassigned to clean a domestic flight .
In this modern age of jet travel , it was a matter of time that the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As of Sunday , one person has died and dozens have been infected in the U.S. , but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the risk of contracting the virus remains low .
Appeals for calm by the Trump administration and the CDC have n't done much to ease the worries of airport workers , who say they 're on the front lines .
Security personnel , gate agents and other employees come in contact with hundreds of travelers a day .
Cleaning crews have to mop up bodily fluids such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Many of these workers say they lack gloves and respiratory masks as well as the information they need to protect themselves .
`` We did not get any training whatsoever , '' Gomez said .
`` It 's just go clean the airplane .
Right now , we hardly have solutions to clean the airplanes with . ''
She said she and her colleagues are not provided with gloves ; they are lucky if flight crews can spare a few extra .
Marc Desnoyers , the president of JetStream Ground Services , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not the case .
`` Provisions of cleaning solutions , gloves and all necessary safety equipment , including masks when requested , are closely monitored and replenished when needed , '' said Desnoyers in a written statement and in a phone interview with NPR .
`` When a concern is raised by a team member , we work to address it immediately , as we did with this employee . ''
When asked about the city-mandated , 16-hour training curriculum in emergency preparedness , which includes information on infectious diseases , Desnoyers said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' He added that Gomez completed her training in November .
But according to Gomez , the only training she has received from JetStream was a 30-minute class in CPR .
Andrew Hagelshaw , communications coordinator with the Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West , said he is hearing similar reports from other airline workers at the Los Angeles airport .
They are particularly vulnerable , he said , because they do n't work directly for the airlines .
Instead , they are employed by subcontractors that frequently cut corners .
NPR @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that JetStream employees recently filed with the city .
All stated that their training was brief , limited to CPR and active shooter drills .
To prevent the spread of the virus , several major U.S. carriers have stopped flying to mainland China .
But now that the coronavirus is infecting people in the U.S. , that 's not much comfort to airport workers .
Yvette Stephens , a security guard for international flights at Newark Liberty International Airport , comes in contact with hundreds of passengers from all over the world .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that cough , sneeze , do n't cover their mouths or their nose , '' Stephens said .
Workers complained , and the airlines received some unflattering media attention .
It appears the airport is now stepping up protections for its ground staff .
Stephens ' employer , OmniServ , has offered gloves and will soon be providing face masks , she said , `` but we wo n't know more until they start the training process . ''
She was n't willing to wait for company-provided masks .
Stephens has multiple sclerosis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ handed them out to her co-workers .
As of Sunday , the CDC is not recommending that healthy people wear masks .
Measures , such as frequent hand-washing and staying away from people who are sick , are more effective .
But these guidelines are not reassuring contract airport workers who are paid hourly .
Stephens said she has no choice but to work .
`` You know , I have to pay my bills , '' she said .
`` I have to pay my rent . ''
Stephens lacks health insurance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work at the airport and hopes she does n't get sick .
But she has no doubt where the virus is headed .
`` You ca n't say it 's not going to come this way , because it will . ''

Airport Workers Fear They're Unprotected From The Coronavirus
Enlarge this image toggle caption Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images
After passengers filed off a flight from China five weeks ago, cabin cleaners at the Los Angeles International Airport were sent in to clean the plane. One of the workers, fearing she might contract the coronavirus, refused.
"I was scared to death," said Barbara Gomez of Inglewood, Calif. "I start crying."
Gomez said her boss told her that if she didn't board the plane, her job would be on the line. Still, she refused.
"Then the other manager came out of the office," Gomez recalled. "And he says, 'Do you know, that over 200 people are going to be boarding this aircraft in the morning.' I say, 'I don't care. Barbara Gomez is not going on the aircraft! You know, this is about my health.' "
In the end, Barbara Gomez did not get on the plane. She was eventually reassigned to clean a domestic flight.
No gloves, no masks
In this modern age of jet travel, it was a matter of time that the coronavirus would appear in the United States. As of Sunday, one person has died and dozens have been infected in the U.S., but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the risk of contracting the virus remains low.
Appeals for calm by the Trump administration and the CDC haven't done much to ease the worries of airport workers, who say they're on the front lines.
Security personnel, gate agents and other employees come in contact with hundreds of travelers a day. Cleaning crews have to mop up bodily fluids such as vomit, mucus and blood. Many of these workers say they lack gloves and respiratory masks as well as the information they need to protect themselves.
"We did not get any training whatsoever," Gomez said. "It's just go clean the airplane. Right now, we hardly have solutions to clean the airplanes with."
She said she and her colleagues are not provided with gloves; they are lucky if flight crews can spare a few extra.
Marc Desnoyers, the president of JetStream Ground Services, which employs Gomez, insists that this is not the case.
"Provisions of cleaning solutions, gloves and all necessary safety equipment, including masks when requested, are closely monitored and replenished when needed," said Desnoyers in a written statement and in a phone interview with NPR. "When a concern is raised by a team member, we work to address it immediately, as we did with this employee."
When asked about the city-mandated, 16-hour training curriculum in emergency preparedness, which includes information on infectious diseases, Desnoyers said "every employee has been trained."
He added that Gomez completed her training in November.
But according to Gomez, the only training she has received from JetStream was a 30-minute class in CPR.
Andrew Hagelshaw, communications coordinator with the Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West, said he is hearing similar reports from other workers at the Los Angeles airport.
They are particularly vulnerable, he said, because they don't work directly for the airlines. Instead, they are employed by subcontractors that frequently cut corners.
NPR obtained copies of half a dozen complaints that JetStream employees recently filed with the city. All stated that their training was brief, limited to CPR and active shooter drills.
On the front lines
To prevent the spread of the virus, several major U.S. carriers have stopped flying to mainland China. But now that the coronavirus is infecting people in the U.S., that's not much comfort to airport workers.
Yvette Stephens, a security guard for international flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, comes in contact with hundreds of passengers from all over the world.
And it's a messy business.
"We have people every single day that cough, sneeze, don't cover their mouths or their nose," Stephens said.
Workers complained, and the airlines received some unflattering media attention. It appears the airport is now stepping up protections for its ground staff.
Stephens' employer, OmniServ, has offered gloves and will soon be providing face masks, she said, "but we won't know more until they start the training process."
She wasn't willing to wait for company-provided masks.
Stephens has multiple sclerosis, so she bought a supply and handed them out to her co-workers.
As of Sunday, the CDC is not recommending that healthy people wear masks. Measures, such as frequent hand-washing and staying away from people who are sick, are more effective.
But these guidelines are not reassuring contract airport workers who are paid hourly.
Stephens said she has no choice but to work.
"You know, I have to pay my bills," she said. "I have to pay my rent."
Stephens lacks health insurance. For now, she continues to work at the airport and hopes she doesn't get sick.
But she has no doubt where the virus is headed.
"You can't say it's not going to come this way, because it will."
NPR's Denise Guerra produced this story for broadcast.


npr--2020-03-01--Greek Paralympic Fencer Hopes To Show What's Possible In A Wheelchair

Greek Paralympic Fencer Hopes To Show What 's Possible In A Wheelchair '' En garde ! ''
the coach shouts .
Two opposing fencers , uniformed and masked , raise their sabers before their own faces .
Both Greek fencers , Panos Triantafyllou and Vasilis Ntounis , are in wheelchairs .
`` Prêt , allez ! ''
the coach shouts again , and the match begins .
The sound of swift-striking sabers echoes inside the small indoor court in Athens ' Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium , where Greece 's national team consisting exclusively of people with disabilities is training .
Triantafyllou @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's 2016 Paralympic Games and is getting ready for the Tokyo Paralympic Games in August .
He 's been picking up medals in the meantime : gold last November at the Wheelchair Fencing World Cup in Amsterdam and silver this month at the cup in Eger , Hungary .
He is currently ranked No .
2 of the year 's best athletes by the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation , and he ranks fifth for Paralympics qualification for Tokyo 2020 .
`` Only the best 10 qualify for the Paralympics , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ European tournament and the world championship get a direct qualification , '' Triantafyllou says .
`` Theoretically I qualify , but it 's better to attend the last three tournaments ahead of the Paralympics . ''
Despite his huge success , he says Greece has n't always been very supportive of people with activity limitations .
`` Greece gives to a person with disabilities an allowance of maximum 600-700 euro [ every month ] , depending on the disability , '' he says , an amount equivalent to $ 660- $ 770 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ standards .
`` If you ca n't work and do n't have your own house , you simply do n't get by .
When you have to pay 400-500 euros [ $ 440- $ 550 ] just for your rent , how can you handle your other expenses , like bills , food , etc.
? ''
According to a recently published report by Eurostat , in 2017 more than 82 % of adults with disabilities in Greece lived in a household that struggled financially , the highest rate in the European Union @ @ @ @ @ @ @ less than 30 % .
Triantafyllou was in a car accident on Nov. 21 , 2004 , that left him paralyzed from the thorax down .
He considers himself one of the lucky ones because he received some insurance money , but it is n't enough : `` They only cover your everyday expenses for some time , '' he says .
Finances are just one challenge people with disabilities face .
`` What has troubled me the most is bureaucracy , '' Triantafyllou says .
`` Wherever you go , either you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to prove every time that you are disabled .
It takes too long to get a permanent certification , if you ever get it . ''
Triantafyllou is also the face of 525 Handmade Wheelchairs — the only company in Greece , and one of a handful in the world , that creates customized , hand-built wheelchairs .
The man behind the project is Faidros Panagopoulos , a 36-year-old former sports journalist who fell in love with the idea of building wheelchairs for customers ' specific needs , offering them more freedom to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wheelchair that optimizes or gives autonomy to a person with disabilities it is an amazing feeling .
It gives you the pleasure that someone is satisfied .
It 's also a huge responsibility , '' Panagopoulos says .
Athens is not a very welcoming city for people with disabilities .
Despite the city making improvements for the Olympic and Paralympic Games , there is still much to be done .
`` Athens has very bad accessibility .
It 's tragic , '' Panagopoulos says .
`` At the moment as we speak , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ visit [ the ] Acropolis , they ca n't .
The elevator is not working . ''
It 's a matter of education , they both agree .
`` I remember as a school kid that never a person with disabilities have visited us or even our teacher teaches us about what disability really is , '' Triantafyllou says .
`` As athletes , now we try to go to schools and talk to kids , who are very eager to learn . ''
In recent years , Greek media outlets have paid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Social media networks have also helped offer exposure .
`` When you see something and hear about it , you learn how to respect it , '' Triantafyllou says , regarding ramps and parking spots for the disabled , often blocked by parked cars or being used by people with no disabilities , just for their convenience .
`` You do n't have to be sensitive to know not to park there , '' Panagopoulos agrees .
`` You just have to be a normal human being . ''
Triantafyllou tries to avoid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can get more complicated .
Yet he says he does n't let his disability prevent him from traveling .
Seven years ago though , he moved in a seaside area about one hour from downtown , where the roads are wider and the sidewalks lower , making it more accessible .
In addition to his wheelchair , Triantafyllou gets around driving a car with hand controls .
`` I wanted to live by the sea , '' he says with a smile , as he sits in his car to go fishing nearby @

Greek Paralympic Fencer Hopes To Show What's Possible In A Wheelchair
Enlarge this image toggle caption Demetrios Ioannou for NPR Demetrios Ioannou for NPR
"En garde!" the coach shouts. Two opposing fencers, uniformed and masked, raise their sabers before their own faces.
Both Greek fencers, Panos Triantafyllou and Vasilis Ntounis, are in wheelchairs.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Demetrios Ioannou for NPR Demetrios Ioannou for NPR
"Prêt, allez!" the coach shouts again, and the match begins. The sound of swift-striking sabers echoes inside the small indoor court in Athens' Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, where Greece's national team consisting exclusively of people with disabilities is training.
Triantafyllou, 33, won silver at Rio's 2016 Paralympic Games and is getting ready for the Tokyo Paralympic Games in August. He's been picking up medals in the meantime: gold last November at the Wheelchair Fencing World Cup in Amsterdam and silver this month at the cup in Eger, Hungary.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Demetrios Ioannou for NPR Demetrios Ioannou for NPR
Enlarge this image toggle caption Demetrios Ioannou for NPR Demetrios Ioannou for NPR
He is currently ranked No. 2 of the year's best athletes by the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation, and he ranks fifth for Paralympics qualification for Tokyo 2020.
"Only the best 10 qualify for the Paralympics, or the ones who come first in the European tournament and the world championship get a direct qualification," Triantafyllou says. "Theoretically I qualify, but it's better to attend the last three tournaments ahead of the Paralympics."
Enlarge this image toggle caption Demetrios Ioannou for NPR Demetrios Ioannou for NPR
Despite his huge success, he says Greece hasn't always been very supportive of people with activity limitations.
"Greece gives to a person with disabilities an allowance of maximum 600-700 euro [every month], depending on the disability," he says, an amount equivalent to $660-$770, which is considered low by European Union standards. "If you can't work and don't have your own house, you simply don't get by. When you have to pay 400-500 euros [$440-$550] just for your rent, how can you handle your other expenses, like bills, food, etc.?"
Enlarge this image toggle caption Demetrios Ioannou for NPR Demetrios Ioannou for NPR
According to a recently published report by Eurostat, in 2017 more than 82% of adults with disabilities in Greece lived in a household that struggled financially, the highest rate in the European Union and well above the EU average of less than 30%.
Triantafyllou was in a car accident on Nov. 21, 2004, that left him paralyzed from the thorax down.
He considers himself one of the lucky ones because he received some insurance money, but it isn't enough: "They only cover your everyday expenses for some time," he says.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Demetrios Ioannou for NPR Demetrios Ioannou for NPR
Finances are just one challenge people with disabilities face. "What has troubled me the most is bureaucracy," Triantafyllou says. "Wherever you go, either you need medicines or whatever, you have to prove every time that you are disabled. It takes too long to get a permanent certification, if you ever get it."
Triantafyllou is also the face of 525 Handmade Wheelchairs — the only company in Greece, and one of a handful in the world, that creates customized, hand-built wheelchairs. The man behind the project is Faidros Panagopoulos, a 36-year-old former sports journalist who fell in love with the idea of building wheelchairs for customers' specific needs, offering them more freedom to move.
"When you see a wheelchair that optimizes or gives autonomy to a person with disabilities it is an amazing feeling. It gives you the pleasure that someone is satisfied. It's also a huge responsibility," Panagopoulos says.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Demetrios Ioannou for NPR Demetrios Ioannou for NPR
Athens is not a very welcoming city for people with disabilities. Despite the city making improvements for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, there is still much to be done. "Athens has very bad accessibility. It's tragic," Panagopoulos says. "At the moment as we speak, if a person with disabilities wants to visit [the] Acropolis, they can't. The elevator is not working."
It's a matter of education, they both agree. "I remember as a school kid that never a person with disabilities have visited us or even our teacher teaches us about what disability really is," Triantafyllou says. "As athletes, now we try to go to schools and talk to kids, who are very eager to learn."
Enlarge this image toggle caption Demetrios Ioannou for NPR Demetrios Ioannou for NPR
In recent years, Greek media outlets have paid more attention to athletes with disabilities. Social media networks have also helped offer exposure.
"When you see something and hear about it, you learn how to respect it," Triantafyllou says, regarding ramps and parking spots for the disabled, often blocked by parked cars or being used by people with no disabilities, just for their convenience. "You don't have to be sensitive to know not to park there," Panagopoulos agrees. "You just have to be a normal human being."
Enlarge this image toggle caption Demetrios Ioannou for NPR Demetrios Ioannou for NPR
Triantafyllou tries to avoid the center of Athens, where things can get more complicated. Yet he says he doesn't let his disability prevent him from traveling. Seven years ago though, he moved in a seaside area about one hour from downtown, where the roads are wider and the sidewalks lower, making it more accessible.
In addition to his wheelchair, Triantafyllou gets around driving a car with hand controls.
"I wanted to live by the sea," he says with a smile, as he sits in his car to go fishing nearby.


npr--2020-03-02--Migrants Again Try To Leave Turkey For Europe, But This Time The Gate Is Closed

Migrants Again Try To Leave Turkey For Europe , But This Time The Gate Is Closed Thousands of migrants are lining Turkey 's border with Greece , egged on by the Turkish government , which declared last Friday that the path to Europe is open .
But as migrants have arrived , they have found the door to the European Union firmly blocked by barbed wire , a rapidly flowing river and riot police armed with tear gas .
`` Do not attempt to enter Greece illegally , you will be turned back , '' the Greek prime minister , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` The borders of Greece are the external borders of Europe .
We will protect them . ''
Mitsotakis 's conservative government sent troops to police the border and said it will refuse to accept new asylum applications for a month , invoking an emergency clause in European treaties allowing it to do so .
It also vowed to deport anyone who crossed by land or sea in contravention of European and international law .
The Greeks also added patrols along its sea borders in the Aegean Sea and asked the EU 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
On Sunday , a child drowned off the coast of the Aegean island of Lesvos after a migrant boat capsized .
`` You 're not welcome here , '' Greek authorities told migrants by text message and megaphone .
A Greek farm workers association even offered to guard the border with tractors .
The migration issue has n't been this explosive in Europe since 2015 , when the EU took in more than a million asylum-seekers .
A 2016 deal between the EU and Turkey drastically reduced the number of arrivals by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for four million migrants there .
The funding for that deal expired last year , but the EU has not followed up with a new plan , says Gerald Knaus , the architect of that 2016 deal and an Austrian social scientist who heads the European Stability Initiative in Berlin .
`` Instead of discussing with the Turks how to help the rising number of Syrian refugees in Turkey for the next few years , the EU has just dropped the ball , partly out of sheer negligence , '' he says .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a desperate cry by Turkey to re-engage .
And it 's unfortunately directed against another government under enormous pressure in Athens . ''
Knaus says Turkish President Recep Tayipp Erdogan has weaponized migrants to compel European support for his military 's operation in Syria 's Idlib province .
The fighting there has sent more than a million Syrians fleeing toward Turkey , which has repeatedly said it can not handle more migrants .
Meanwhile , in Athens , Mitsotakis held an emergency national security meeting on Sunday to manage what government spokesman Stelios @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to violate Greece 's land and sea borders . ''
Petsas also accused Turkey of facilitating people-smuggling .
Turkey 's interior minister Suleyman Soylu claimed on Twitter that more than 100,000 migrants had left Turkey on Sunday via the Edirne border crossing , entering a no man 's land between the Turkish and Greek border checkpoints .
But the International Organization for Migration says the number is , for now , much lower — more like 15,000 .
Lanna Walsh , an IOM Turkey spokesperson , told NPR that migrants have set up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Turkish borders and are waiting to see what happens .
`` We did see a lot of people go back [ to Turkey ] , '' she says .
`` Some people have decided maybe they wo n't try [ to enter Greece ] now or they might move westward and try to cross from Izmir . ''
Right across from Izmir , which is in western Turkey , are Greece 's Aegean islands , where about 1,000 migrants have arrived since Sunday .
One Aegean island , Lesvos , became globally known @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and 2016 .
Locals and tourists pitched in to welcome up to 10,000 asylum-seekers arriving on shore every day , and grandmothers brought cheese pies .
Islanders were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016 .
Since then the mood has drastically soured , especially as the island 's main refugee camp has grown grossly overcrowded — it now houses eight times the number of people it was built for .
Residents of Lesvos and another island , Chios , have been protesting in recent days over plans to build big , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weekend , a video on the Greek media site Lifo showed a group of aggressive islanders on Lesvos taunting migrants crowded onto a boat floating off a landing .
The migrants include children and a pregnant woman .
The Greeks yelled : `` Illegals !
Go back !
We do n't care about the babies — they 're not ours ! ''
The Athens News Agency reported that islanders also threatened humanitarian workers and journalists .
The mayor of Lesvos joined a crowd trying to block newly arrived migrants from entering the refugee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ solidarity .
An EU crisis response team meets tomorrow .
The EU Foreign Affairs Council is meeting next week , at Greece 's request .
EU leaders , including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron , have tweeted their support for Greece .
Many in the EU fear the migration issue will revive the nativist populism that is still threatening the bloc 's survival , especially as fears over the spread of coronavirus play into the hands of populists .
Orban calls migrants `` invaders '' and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ borders to asylum-seekers in 2015 .
This weekend , his government 's spokesman , Zoltan Kovacs , said `` all measures are being taken for the protection of Hungarian people and the Hungarian border . ''
Knaus , of the European Stability Initiative , says the EU ca n't be a beacon of human rights unless it moves quickly to re-engage with Turkey and assist Greece with its severely overcrowded camps .
`` The alternative has always been Viktor Orban , who says let 's just treat those who come as an invading @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Let 's confront them with tear gas , let 's arrest them , let 's criminalize them . ''

Migrants Again Try To Leave Turkey For Europe, But This Time The Gate Is Closed
Enlarge this image toggle caption Emrah Gurel/AP Emrah Gurel/AP
Thousands of migrants are lining Turkey's border with Greece, egged on by the Turkish government, which declared last Friday that the path to Europe is open.
But as migrants have arrived, they have found the door to the European Union firmly blocked by barbed wire, a rapidly flowing river and riot police armed with tear gas.
"Do not attempt to enter Greece illegally, you will be turned back," the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, tweeted on Sunday. "The borders of Greece are the external borders of Europe. We will protect them."
Mitsotakis's conservative government sent troops to police the border and said it will refuse to accept new asylum applications for a month, invoking an emergency clause in European treaties allowing it to do so. It also vowed to deport anyone who crossed by land or sea in contravention of European and international law.
The Greeks also added patrols along its sea borders in the Aegean Sea and asked the EU's border-patrol agency, Frontex, for reinforcements. On Sunday, a child drowned off the coast of the Aegean island of Lesvos after a migrant boat capsized.
"You're not welcome here," Greek authorities told migrants by text message and megaphone. A Greek farm workers association even offered to guard the border with tractors.
The migration issue hasn't been this explosive in Europe since 2015, when the EU took in more than a million asylum-seekers. A 2016 deal between the EU and Turkey drastically reduced the number of arrivals by giving Turkey billions of euros to care for four million migrants there.
The funding for that deal expired last year, but the EU has not followed up with a new plan, says Gerald Knaus, the architect of that 2016 deal and an Austrian social scientist who heads the European Stability Initiative in Berlin.
"Instead of discussing with the Turks how to help the rising number of Syrian refugees in Turkey for the next few years, the EU has just dropped the ball, partly out of sheer negligence," he says. "So what we see now is a desperate cry by Turkey to re-engage. And it's unfortunately directed against another government under enormous pressure in Athens."
Knaus says Turkish President Recep Tayipp Erdogan has weaponized migrants to compel European support for his military's operation in Syria's Idlib province. The fighting there has sent more than a million Syrians fleeing toward Turkey, which has repeatedly said it cannot handle more migrants.
Meanwhile, in Athens, Mitsotakis held an emergency national security meeting on Sunday to manage what government spokesman Stelios Petsas calls "an organized mass attempt to violate Greece's land and sea borders." Petsas also accused Turkey of facilitating people-smuggling.
Storming the border
Enlarge this image toggle caption Darko Bandic/AP Darko Bandic/AP
Turkey's interior minister Suleyman Soylu claimed on Twitter that more than 100,000 migrants had left Turkey on Sunday via the Edirne border crossing, entering a no man's land between the Turkish and Greek border checkpoints. But the International Organization for Migration says the number is, for now, much lower — more like 15,000.
Lanna Walsh, an IOM Turkey spokesperson, told NPR that migrants have set up camp in fields between the Greek and Turkish borders and are waiting to see what happens.
"We did see a lot of people go back [to Turkey]," she says. "Some people have decided maybe they won't try [to enter Greece] now or they might move westward and try to cross from Izmir."
Right across from Izmir, which is in western Turkey, are Greece's Aegean islands, where about 1,000 migrants have arrived since Sunday.
One Aegean island, Lesvos, became globally known for its goodwill toward asylum-seekers in 2015 and 2016. Locals and tourists pitched in to welcome up to 10,000 asylum-seekers arriving on shore every day, and grandmothers brought cheese pies. Islanders were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016.
Since then the mood has drastically soured, especially as the island's main refugee camp has grown grossly overcrowded — it now houses eight times the number of people it was built for. Residents of Lesvos and another island, Chios, have been protesting in recent days over plans to build big, prison-like detention centers for migrants.
This weekend, a video on the Greek media site Lifo showed a group of aggressive islanders on Lesvos taunting migrants crowded onto a boat floating off a landing. The migrants include children and a pregnant woman. The Greeks yelled: "Illegals! Go back! We don't care about the babies — they're not ours!"
The Athens News Agency reported that islanders also threatened humanitarian workers and journalists. The mayor of Lesvos joined a crowd trying to block newly arrived migrants from entering the refugee camp.
Brussels promised Greece help and solidarity. An EU crisis response team meets tomorrow. The EU Foreign Affairs Council is meeting next week, at Greece's request. EU leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron, have tweeted their support for Greece.
Many in the EU fear the migration issue will revive the nativist populism that is still threatening the bloc's survival, especially as fears over the spread of coronavirus play into the hands of populists. Orban calls migrants "invaders" and was the first EU leader to close borders to asylum-seekers in 2015. This weekend, his government's spokesman, Zoltan Kovacs, said "all measures are being taken for the protection of Hungarian people and the Hungarian border."
Knaus, of the European Stability Initiative, says the EU can't be a beacon of human rights unless it moves quickly to re-engage with Turkey and assist Greece with its severely overcrowded camps.
"The alternative has always been Viktor Orban, who says let's just treat those who come as an invading army," Knaus says. "Let's confront them with tear gas, let's arrest them, let's criminalize them."