foreignpolicy--2020-03-20--A Tale of Two Quarantines

A Tale of Two Quarantines

In this jittery era , people talk about China and the United States being very different .
Their societies and histories contrast so much that many of us have probably said sometime recently , regarding the coronavirus pandemic , that Beijing does things that are impossible in the West .
Yet , after undergoing self-quarantine in both countries , I was also startled by paradoxical similarities .
In a quirk of serendipity , my husband and I wound up hunkered down , for 14-day periods each , in the capital cities of the world ’ s two most powerful nations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as we finally emerge from isolation—eager to rejoin society ( or at least eat something not based on canned tomatoes ) —we discover that everyone seems to be scrambling to enter the sort of isolation from which we thought we ’ d just been freed .
This is a tale of two quarantines .
Despite all the ways autocratic Chinese apparatchiks differ from glad-handing American politicians , many of the same dynamics are unfolding in D.C. that we had witnessed in Beijing .
Blame-shifting bureaucrats .
Inspiring volunteers .
Flip-flopping government mouthpieces and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We ’ ve seen it all—twice .
The only difference is the time lag—about six weeks—before the United States launched the cycle that ’ s now just winding down in China .
It ’ s surreal to be repeating this cycle yet again .
This time , in our topsy-turvy ( and fast-shrinking ) universe , now it ’ s China—where the initial coronavirus epicenter was the city of Wuhan—returning to normal and shaking its head over the virus ’ s overseas rampage .
On Thursday , for the first time since the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ locally transmitted coronavirus cases in the country .
Any new cases were “ imports , ” or people coming to China from overseas , at least according to official statistics .
If true , this is a major turning point and a glimmer of light in a dark landscape .
Yet even if true , the path forward isn ’ t all sweetness and light .
Today many Chinese seem as willing to vent nationalistic sentiment as many Westerners had been last month to embrace racist memes and to bully and even attack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be wearing face masks .
Meanwhile , the pandemic has exacerbated Sino-U.S. tensions , resulting in tit-for-tat expulsions of journalists in both countries and an ugly exchange of xenophobic rhetoric .
Now , Europe has taken China ’ s place as the new epicenter of coronavirus infection .
And the United States is steeling for the worst , nervously eyeing the ghastly mortality rates in Italy .
On Thursday , for the first time , Italy ’ s total number of COVID-19 deaths , at 3,405 , surpassed even China ’ s overall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s yet more alarming when you compare Italy ’ s population of some 60 million against China ’ s over 1.3 billion people . )
Today , it ’ s Beijing and other Asian governments that are racing to prevent “ imported ” cases from triggering a new wave , or waves , of infection .
On March 19 , Beijing reported its caseload of infections had doubled in just three days , from 31 to 64 .
Hong Kong and Taiwan also reported recent spikes .
Authorities across the region are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entering from abroad .
If these imported cases spark new cycles , that would prolong the coronavirus ’ reign of fear and infection , which has already claimed over 10,000 lives .
Meanwhile , the role reversal between China and the West is playing out in the economic sector as well .
China has declared itself back in business .
Streets aren ’ t spookily vacant , as they had been last month .
More and more shops , services , and even cinemas are reopened or planning to be .
( My @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spam calls from strangers asking me to buy , or sell , real estate ) .
Although China ’ s economy suffered considerably , an article in Friday ’ s Financial Times , titled “ China is an odd but effective refuge from the coronavirus crisis , ” cited JPMorgan economists declaring , “ If we are right , China will be first in , first out of a virus-induced slowdown.
” To have a Chinese health official lecturing Europe on how best to fight the coronavirus is a startling turnaround , given @ @ @ @ @ @ @ efforts just a month or so ago .
One of the most telling signs of the Beijing regime ’ s resurgence is a full-bore propaganda and “ going global ” campaign .
Chinese government officials not only have declared victory over the outbreak inside China , but they also have offered to help rescue the rest of the world .
Chinese diplomats , state-run entities , and private philanthropists and entrepreneurs—including the omnipresent mogul Jack Ma—are offering to donate or sell medical supplies and provide other much-needed assistance to European governments that are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ironic moment took place after Beijing sent medical experts to Italy ’ s beleaguered Lombardy region to lend a hand .
In a Milan press conference , Chinese Red Cross Vice President Sun Shuopeng compared the area to China ’ s city of Wuhan—and declared Italy ’ s quarantine measures “ not strict enough … you ’ re still having dinners and parties in the hotels and you ’ re not wearing masks.
” He suggested Italy ’ s government make sure everyone just went home and stayed put .
To have a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best to fight the coronavirus is a startling turnaround , given Western criticism of Beijing ’ s anti-pandemic efforts just a month or so ago .
And it underscores a nagging question : Why didn ’ t China ’ s earlier battle against the virus set off alarms in the West , scaring governments into preparing better for the pandemic that ’ s now sending them scrambling ?
Back in February , China ’ s central government under President Xi Jinping was struggling to cope with the horrific body count in Wuhan .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ may take time to emerge .
After the city was locked down , dozens of bodies were reportedly removed from private residences ; it turns out that when some family members were forced into quarantine , their absence left many of the elderly , sick , and disabled to die of neglect and even starvation .
Provincial-level bungling and cover-ups sabotaged early official efforts against outbreak .
Also , there were too few diagnostic tests , too few hospitals , too few healthy doctors and nurses , and too few basic medical supplies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the global face mask shortage was my first hint that something out of the ordinary was unfolding in China .
I was on vacation in Thailand in late January when a friend who works in the municipal government of a city in Zhejiang province WeChatted me .
“ We ’ re going all out to fight against the epidemic , ” she wrote , “ There ’ s a shortage of disposable face masks , protective clothing and goggles .
Could you help ?
” She ’ d never before asked me for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ d worked together for years to help set up a memorial hall to U.S. aviators in World War II China ) .
By early February , face masks were scarce in many countries , including Thailand .
I shared her request with a U.S. nonprofit organization , the Children of the Doolittle Raiders , which donated about $ 8,000 worth of funds and supplies in late February .
Back in Beijing , where I live and work , Chinese returning to the city after their Lunar New Year vacations were being told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Due to lucky timing , however , I returned to Beijing at a moment that allowed me to experience a very relaxed sort of quarantine .
As a U.S. passport-holder ( and with relatively few infections in the United States at that time ) , I was told by a friend that foreigners were exempt from Beijing ’ s quarantine requirements—because the focus was on local Chinese .
Perhaps Beijing didn ’ t need anything more than the honor system—especially when it ’ s augmented by omnipresent closed-circuit TV cameras , facial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other Big Brother tech aids .
Encouraged , I flew to Beijing on Feb. 13 and registered my presence on a mobile phone app .
( Later , I discovered my friend was wrong about the exemption , and today most travelers returning to Beijing from abroad are being submitted to mandatory quarantine in a government facility for 14 days , at their own expense . )
Signs were everywhere warning me to avoid crowds , wash my hands , monitor my temperature , and wear a face mask in public at all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need anything more than the honor system—especially when it ’ s augmented by omnipresent closed-circuit TV cameras , facial recognition , cellphone GPS location services and other Big Brother tech aids .
That was about it , except for armies of temperature-takers at compound gates , entrances to open-air malls , the Apple store , even public parks .
My husband and I wanted to attend a funeral in D.C. in April , so we decided to fly to the United States early just in case flight cancellations and ever-tighter U.S. entry requirements @ @ @ @ @ @ @ landing in the United States , we filled out forms , submitted to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention temperature checks , then headed into self-administered quarantine in D.C. overseen by the D.C. Department of Health .
Unexpectedly , the department actually followed up with a friendly phone call , and then an email .
We got a checklist and instructions on what to do if we began to feel ill .
I emailed back to ask where I could buy face masks , since I couldn ’ t find any for sale @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a face mask shortage and said : “ there should be no need for an abundance of face masks … so long as you ’ re practicing social distancing and following the self-isolation guidelines and remain asymptomatic.
” So much for Beijing rules .
We set aside our masks and followed the U.S. guidelines closely .
On March 12 , the health department officially notified us by email that our quarantine was over .
We enjoyed what seemed like a nanosecond of normality , dining out and strolling under a canopy of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But the markets had been volatile for days , and at one point the turmoil rattled U.S. President Donald Trump out of a prolonged state of denial .
For weeks , he ’ d been making cavalier reassurances : “ We have it under control .
It ’ s going to be just fine.
” He declared that the coronavirus was just like the flu , that infected people could safely continue to work , and that one day ( “ looks like by April ” ) it would “ miraculously ” disappear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was at 29,276 . )
Much of what he said was not supported by scientific evidence .
In fact , both presidents Xi and Trump were criticized early on for not asserting greater leadership as their nations hurtled into the jaws of the pandemic .
Initially Xi—who normally dominates headlines and the top slot on television news—didn ’ t appear in domestic media for about a week .
In Trump ’ s case , investors became more and more alarmed by the disconnect between his dismissive statements versus science-based fact .
During several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intellectually AWOL as his blithe statements clashed with the sober assessments made by scientific advisors standing right beside him .
Eventually , each leader began to engage .
Xi had appeared in public in a Beijing neighborhood wearing a face mask and was quoted as declaring a “ people ’ s war ” against the “ demon ” virus .
In Trump ’ s case , he announced from the Oval Office on March 11 tough new travel restrictions on most travelers entering the U.S. from Europe .
( Then , the Dow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 13th , the president declared a national emergency .
Four days later , he proposed to Congress a trillion-dollar economic response package to assist businesses shell-shocked by the administration ’ s new “ social distancing ” guidelines .
( The Dow had fallen to 21,237 . )
As I watched endless hours of TV in quarantine , one thing became clear .
The biggest difference between Beijing and DC is the way policy fumbles , internal disagreement , and bureaucratic frictions played out in full view in the U.S. During a Friday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s upbeat tone—and his naively optimistic characterization of the anti-malaria drug chloroquine ’ s possible use against COVID-19—differed significantly from that of his top scientific advisor , Anthony Fauci .
Such things don ’ t happen with Xi .
For one , he doesn ’ t do press briefings .
Two , his style and personality are opaque even by the minimal standards set by predecessors Three , Chinese who contradict the party line get punished .
In China ophthalmologist Li Wenliang was detained by cops because tried to warn people about a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wuhan ; no one knows what other retaliation he might have encountered because he died from COVID-19 .
Now , I and most people in D.C. , it seems , are heading into a quasi-quarantine similar to what I ’ d experienced in Beijing , sans face masks and Big Brother .
A long-scheduled dinner party became an online Zoom meeting instead .
Along the oddly quiet streets near Dupont Circle , restaurants are shuttering one by one .
Pizza Paradiso was still open—offering takeout only—but no one knew how long it could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to China ’ s deserted capital in February .
It was Contagion meets Groundhog Day .
There may be yet more darkness ahead .
Leaders in both China and the United States are looking for someone to blame for the severe economic and societal damage being wrought by COVID-19 .
Both are evoking wartime analogies .
Trump has called the pandemic America ’ s “ invisible enemy ” and has defended his use of the term “ Chinese virus , ” with much self-congratulation focused on his early decision to restrict travel from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chinese foreign ministry has called Trump racist for using the term .
Both governments seem to be finding the path of least resistance toward finding that a convenient scapegoat is xenophobia .
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian—a firebrand diplomat recently promoted for having shown a Trump-like prowess for hyperbole on Twitter—tweeted that it might have been the U.S. Army that brought the coronavirus to China , speculating that 300 athletes from the American military introduced the coronavirus while participating in sports competitions in Wuhan last October .
In other words , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slower-burning crisis in Sino-U.S. relations as well .
Global health emergencies don ’ t always sabotage multilateralism and global coordination .
During the Ebola outbreak , Chinese officials cooperated closely with counterparts from the United States and other countries .
China ’ s 2003-2004 SARS epidemic , and an international outcry over Beijing ’ s attempted coverup , ultimately helped improve China ’ s public health surveillance and international liaison .
The urgent global pandemic crisis has inflamed a slower-burning crisis in Sino-U.S. relations as well .
But this time Beijing has wasted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its Wuhan missteps .
The regime has already pounced on the opportunity to cast blame overseas .
“ It ’ s astounding how quickly and brazenly they ’ ve been able to go on the offensive , after the number of new cases began to decrease , ” said Richard McGregor , a China specialist with the Lowy Institute in Australia who mentioned that a friend in China was “ sending face masks to me here from China because we don ’ t have any.
” That comment about face masks underscored how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
After experiencing its own catastrophic shortage of medical supplies in February , China ramped up production hugely .
Now the face masks that were nowhere to be seen in China , back when I was asked to find some in Thailand , are back on the market in China again .
Knowing I was in the United States , several Chinese friends have WeChatted me recently to ask how I was faring and if I needed any supplies .
“ I hear there ’ s a lack of face masks and gloves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ If you need masks , I can help.
” After six weeks of unsuccessfully trying to buy face masks in Thailand , China , and now in the United States , I could use some extra masks .
Scientific studies project the pandemic threat to the United States might linger for as long as 12 or 18 more months .
Even countries that seem to be recovering from the virus may still be hit by a second wave of infection .
Both the 1918-1919 Spanish flu pandemic and the SARS outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s no telling how long I ’ ll be here .
The funeral for which I originally came to D.C. has been postponed .
I don ’ t much like the idea of spending 14 days in mandatory quarantine at a Chinese hotel , at my own expense—which is the fate awaiting me if I return to Beijing now .
I ’ m tempted to take up my friend ’ s offer of face masks .
You never know how many more quarantines I ’ ll have to undergo in coming weeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and when I do .

In this jittery era, people talk about China and the United States being very different. Their societies and histories contrast so much that many of us have probably said sometime recently, regarding the coronavirus pandemic, that Beijing does things that are impossible in the West.
In this jittery era, people talk about China and the United States being very different. Their societies and histories contrast so much that many of us have probably said sometime recently, regarding the coronavirus pandemic, that Beijing does things that are impossible in the West.
Things like draconian lockdowns.
Yet, after undergoing self-quarantine in both countries, I was also startled by paradoxical similarities. In a quirk of serendipity, my husband and I wound up hunkered down, for 14-day periods each, in the capital cities of the world’s two most powerful nations, Beijing and Washington. Now, as we finally emerge from isolation—eager to rejoin society (or at least eat something not based on canned tomatoes)—we discover that everyone seems to be scrambling to enter the sort of isolation from which we thought we’d just been freed.
This is a tale of two quarantines. Despite all the ways autocratic Chinese apparatchiks differ from glad-handing American politicians, many of the same dynamics are unfolding in D.C. that we had witnessed in Beijing. Blame-shifting bureaucrats. Inspiring volunteers. Flip-flopping government mouthpieces and their self-serving narratives. Lurking xenophobia. We’ve seen it all—twice. The only difference is the time lag—about six weeks—before the United States launched the cycle that’s now just winding down in China.
It’s surreal to be repeating this cycle yet again. This time, in our topsy-turvy (and fast-shrinking) universe, now it’s China—where the initial coronavirus epicenter was the city of Wuhan—returning to normal and shaking its head over the virus’s overseas rampage. On Thursday, for the first time since the pandemic began, Beijing reported no new locally transmitted coronavirus cases in the country. Any new cases were “imports,” or people coming to China from overseas, at least according to official statistics.
Mapping the Coronavirus Outbreak: Get daily updates on the pandemic and learn how it’s affecting countries around the world.]
If true, this is a major turning point and a glimmer of light in a dark landscape. Yet even if true, the path forward isn’t all sweetness and light. Today many Chinese seem as willing to vent nationalistic sentiment as many Westerners had been last month to embrace racist memes and to bully and even attack victims of Asian descent who happened to be wearing face masks. Meanwhile, the pandemic has exacerbated Sino-U.S. tensions, resulting in tit-for-tat expulsions of journalists in both countries and an ugly exchange of xenophobic rhetoric.
Now, Europe has taken China’s place as the new epicenter of coronavirus infection. And the United States is steeling for the worst, nervously eyeing the ghastly mortality rates in Italy. On Thursday, for the first time, Italy’s total number of COVID-19 deaths, at 3,405, surpassed even China’s overall death toll of 3,249. (It’s yet more alarming when you compare Italy’s population of some 60 million against China’s over 1.3 billion people.)
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Today, it’s Beijing and other Asian governments that are racing to prevent “imported” cases from triggering a new wave, or waves, of infection. On March 19, Beijing reported its caseload of infections had doubled in just three days, from 31 to 64. Hong Kong and Taiwan also reported recent spikes. Authorities across the region are cobbling together ever-stricter quarantine requirements for travelers entering from abroad. If these imported cases spark new cycles, that would prolong the coronavirus’ reign of fear and infection, which has already claimed over 10,000 lives.
Meanwhile, the role reversal between China and the West is playing out in the economic sector as well. China has declared itself back in business. Streets aren’t spookily vacant, as they had been last month. More and more shops, services, and even cinemas are reopened or planning to be. (My Chinese mobile once again buzzes with annoying spam calls from strangers asking me to buy, or sell, real estate). Although China’s economy suffered considerably, an article in Friday’s Financial Times, titled “China is an odd but effective refuge from the coronavirus crisis,” cited JPMorgan economists declaring, “If we are right, China will be first in, first out of a virus-induced slowdown.”
To have a Chinese health official lecturing Europe on how best to fight the coronavirus is a startling turnaround, given Western criticism of Beijing’s anti-pandemic efforts just a month or so ago.
One of the most telling signs of the Beijing regime’s resurgence is a full-bore propaganda and “going global” campaign. Chinese government officials not only have declared victory over the outbreak inside China, but they also have offered to help rescue the rest of the world. Chinese diplomats, state-run entities, and private philanthropists and entrepreneurs—including the omnipresent mogul Jack Ma—are offering to donate or sell medical supplies and provide other much-needed assistance to European governments that are running scared from COVID-19.
A hugely ironic moment took place after Beijing sent medical experts to Italy’s beleaguered Lombardy region to lend a hand. In a Milan press conference, Chinese Red Cross Vice President Sun Shuopeng compared the area to China’s city of Wuhan—and declared Italy’s quarantine measures “not strict enough … you’re still having dinners and parties in the hotels and you’re not wearing masks.” He suggested Italy’s government make sure everyone just went home and stayed put.
To have a Chinese health official lecturing Europe on how best to fight the coronavirus is a startling turnaround, given Western criticism of Beijing’s anti-pandemic efforts just a month or so ago. And it underscores a nagging question: Why didn’t China’s earlier battle against the virus set off alarms in the West, scaring governments into preparing better for the pandemic that’s now sending them scrambling?
Back in February, China’s central government under President Xi Jinping was struggling to cope with the horrific body count in Wuhan. The full picture of what Wuhan suffered may take time to emerge. After the city was locked down, dozens of bodies were reportedly removed from private residences; it turns out that when some family members were forced into quarantine, their absence left many of the elderly, sick, and disabled to die of neglect and even starvation. Provincial-level bungling and cover-ups sabotaged early official efforts against outbreak. Also, there were too few diagnostic tests, too few hospitals, too few healthy doctors and nurses, and too few basic medical supplies, including face masks.
News of the global face mask shortage was my first hint that something out of the ordinary was unfolding in China. I was on vacation in Thailand in late January when a friend who works in the municipal government of a city in Zhejiang province WeChatted me. “We’re going all out to fight against the epidemic,” she wrote, “There’s a shortage of disposable face masks, protective clothing and goggles. Could you help?”
She’d never before asked me for such a favor (even though we’d worked together for years to help set up a memorial hall to U.S. aviators in World War II China). By early February, face masks were scarce in many countries, including Thailand. I shared her request with a U.S. nonprofit organization, the Children of the Doolittle Raiders, which donated about $8,000 worth of funds and supplies in late February.
Back in Beijing, where I live and work, Chinese returning to the city after their Lunar New Year vacations were being told to self-quarantine at home for 14 days. Due to lucky timing, however, I returned to Beijing at a moment that allowed me to experience a very relaxed sort of quarantine. As a U.S. passport-holder (and with relatively few infections in the United States at that time), I was told by a friend that foreigners were exempt from Beijing’s quarantine requirements—because the focus was on local Chinese.
Perhaps Beijing didn’t need anything more than the honor system—especially when it’s augmented by omnipresent closed-circuit TV cameras, facial recognition, cellphone GPS location services and other Big Brother tech aids.
Encouraged, I flew to Beijing on Feb. 13 and registered my presence on a mobile phone app. (Later, I discovered my friend was wrong about the exemption, and today most travelers returning to Beijing from abroad are being submitted to mandatory quarantine in a government facility for 14 days, at their own expense.) Signs were everywhere warning me to avoid crowds, wash my hands, monitor my temperature, and wear a face mask in public at all times.
Perhaps Beijing didn’t need anything more than the honor system—especially when it’s augmented by omnipresent closed-circuit TV cameras, facial recognition, cellphone GPS location services and other Big Brother tech aids. That was about it, except for armies of temperature-takers at compound gates, entrances to open-air malls, the Apple store, even public parks.
My husband and I wanted to attend a funeral in D.C. in April, so we decided to fly to the United States early just in case flight cancellations and ever-tighter U.S. entry requirements made it difficult later on. After landing in the United States, we filled out forms, submitted to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention temperature checks, then headed into self-administered quarantine in D.C. overseen by the D.C. Department of Health. Unexpectedly, the department actually followed up with a friendly phone call, and then an email. We got a checklist and instructions on what to do if we began to feel ill.
I emailed back to ask where I could buy face masks, since I couldn’t find any for sale. The prompt response acknowledged there indeed was a face mask shortage and said: “there should be no need for an abundance of face masks … so long as you’re practicing social distancing and following the self-isolation guidelines and remain asymptomatic.” So much for Beijing rules. We set aside our masks and followed the U.S. guidelines closely. On March 12, the health department officially notified us by email that our quarantine was over.
We enjoyed what seemed like a nanosecond of normality, dining out and strolling under a canopy of magnolia and cherry blossoms in D.C. But the markets had been volatile for days, and at one point the turmoil rattled U.S. President Donald Trump out of a prolonged state of denial. For weeks, he’d been making cavalier reassurances: “We have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.” He declared that the coronavirus was just like the flu, that infected people could safely continue to work, and that one day (“looks like by April”) it would “miraculously” disappear. (Back then the Dow Jones was at 29,276.) Much of what he said was not supported by scientific evidence.
In fact, both presidents Xi and Trump were criticized early on for not asserting greater leadership as their nations hurtled into the jaws of the pandemic. Initially Xi—who normally dominates headlines and the top slot on television news—didn’t appear in domestic media for about a week. In Trump’s case, investors became more and more alarmed by the disconnect between his dismissive statements versus science-based fact. During several televised appearances, Trump seemed to be intellectually AWOL as his blithe statements clashed with the sober assessments made by scientific advisors standing right beside him.
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Eventually, each leader began to engage. Xi had appeared in public in a Beijing neighborhood wearing a face mask and was quoted as declaring a “people’s war” against the “demon” virus. In Trump’s case, he announced from the Oval Office on March 11 tough new travel restrictions on most travelers entering the U.S. from Europe. (Then, the Dow was at 23,553.) On Friday the 13th, the president declared a national emergency. Four days later, he proposed to Congress a trillion-dollar economic response package to assist businesses shell-shocked by the administration’s new “social distancing” guidelines. (The Dow had fallen to 21,237.)
As I watched endless hours of TV in quarantine, one thing became clear. The biggest difference between Beijing and DC is the way policy fumbles, internal disagreement, and bureaucratic frictions played out in full view in the U.S. During a Friday press conference, the U.S. president’s upbeat tone—and his naively optimistic characterization of the anti-malaria drug chloroquine’s possible use against COVID-19—differed significantly from that of his top scientific advisor, Anthony Fauci. Such things don’t happen with Xi. For one, he doesn’t do press briefings. Two, his style and personality are opaque even by the minimal standards set by predecessors Three, Chinese who contradict the party line get punished. In China ophthalmologist Li Wenliang was detained by cops because tried to warn people about a nasty new coronavirus on the loose in Wuhan; no one knows what other retaliation he might have encountered because he died from COVID-19.
Now, I and most people in D.C., it seems, are heading into a quasi-quarantine similar to what I’d experienced in Beijing, sans face masks and Big Brother. A long-scheduled dinner party became an online Zoom meeting instead. Along the oddly quiet streets near Dupont Circle, restaurants are shuttering one by one. Pizza Paradiso was still open—offering takeout only—but no one knew how long it could continue. I had an eerie flashback to China’s deserted capital in February. It was Contagion meets Groundhog Day.
There may be yet more darkness ahead. Leaders in both China and the United States are looking for someone to blame for the severe economic and societal damage being wrought by COVID-19. Both are evoking wartime analogies. Trump has called the pandemic America’s “invisible enemy” and has defended his use of the term “Chinese virus,” with much self-congratulation focused on his early decision to restrict travel from China to the United States. The Chinese foreign ministry has called Trump racist for using the term.
Both governments seem to be finding the path of least resistance toward finding that a convenient scapegoat is xenophobia. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian—a firebrand diplomat recently promoted for having shown a Trump-like prowess for hyperbole on Twitter—tweeted that it might have been the U.S. Army that brought the coronavirus to China, speculating that 300 athletes from the American military introduced the coronavirus while participating in sports competitions in Wuhan last October.
In other words, the urgent global pandemic crisis has inflamed a slower-burning crisis in Sino-U.S. relations as well. Global health emergencies don’t always sabotage multilateralism and global coordination. During the Ebola outbreak, Chinese officials cooperated closely with counterparts from the United States and other countries. China’s 2003-2004 SARS epidemic, and an international outcry over Beijing’s attempted coverup, ultimately helped improve China’s public health surveillance and international liaison.
The urgent global pandemic crisis has inflamed a slower-burning crisis in Sino-U.S. relations as well.
But this time Beijing has wasted little time on defensively trying to hide its Wuhan missteps. The regime has already pounced on the opportunity to cast blame overseas. “It’s astounding how quickly and brazenly they’ve been able to go on the offensive, after the number of new cases began to decrease,” said Richard McGregor, a China specialist with the Lowy Institute in Australia who mentioned that a friend in China was “sending face masks to me here from China because we don’t have any.”
That comment about face masks underscored how the virus wars have come full circle. After experiencing its own catastrophic shortage of medical supplies in February, China ramped up production hugely. Now the face masks that were nowhere to be seen in China, back when I was asked to find some in Thailand, are back on the market in China again. Knowing I was in the United States, several Chinese friends have WeChatted me recently to ask how I was faring and if I needed any supplies. “I hear there’s a lack of face masks and gloves in the States,” wrote one, “If you need masks, I can help.”
After six weeks of unsuccessfully trying to buy face masks in Thailand, China, and now in the United States, I could use some extra masks. Scientific studies project the pandemic threat to the United States might linger for as long as 12 or 18 more months. Even countries that seem to be recovering from the virus may still be hit by a second wave of infection. Both the 1918-1919 Spanish flu pandemic and the SARS outbreak peaked more than one time.
There’s no telling how long I’ll be here. The funeral for which I originally came to D.C. has been postponed. I don’t much like the idea of spending 14 days in mandatory quarantine at a Chinese hotel, at my own expense—which is the fate awaiting me if I return to Beijing now. I’m tempted to take up my friend’s offer of face masks. You never know how many more quarantines I’ll have to undergo in coming weeks or months—nor what rules will apply if and when I do.


foreignpolicy--2020-03-20--This Time, Can We Finally Turn a Financial Crisis Into an Opportunity?

This Time , Can We Finally Turn a Financial Crisis Into an Opportunity ?
At a time of coronavirus-induced panic in the financial markets , there are two wrong ideas about supporting the economy in a downturn that still haunt us .
One possible upside of the current crisis is that these two ideas may finally be buried for good .
And when they are , we might use this rare moment of clarity to fundamentally rethink who these markets , and their perennial bailouts , benefit in the first place .
The first of these ideas is that investors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sell their assets , are responding rationally to information .
That is , markets are “ efficient , ” and therefore the best way to organize how a society chooses to invest .
This idea is challenged by what we have seen in the financial markets over the past two weeks .
Panicking investors are responding to uncertainty , not information .
Central banks around the world have rightly intervened to try to stabilize markets that have been anything but efficient .
The second is that the best way to deal with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as we face as a result of the coronavirus pandemic—is to restore confidence by cutting government budgets , also known as austerity policies .
That governments around the world have rushed to announce emergency spending measures to compensate for a sudden and colossal seizure in economic activity suggests that this bad idea , too , is finally dead.The response so far has been mostly impressive .
Why , then , are markets still falling ?
Attempts to stabilize the markets began last week .
The U.S. Federal Reserve has cut interest rates as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the markets for Treasury bills and commercial credit , and relaxed collateral rules and reserve requirements for banks to keep cash flowing .
Congress is now debating not whether to spend , but how much—up to $ 1 trillion .
The executive branch has authorized a payroll tax deferral of 90 days and is planning direct cash transfers to households .
After sitting on its hands last week , the European Central Bank has now announced its own “ bazooka ” —a 750 billion euro ( $ 800 billion ) bond-buying program , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ program for banks , and an expansion of existing “ quantitative easing ” programs .
Various fiscal spending programs are emerging too .
The response so far has been mostly impressive .
Why , then , are markets still falling ?
The most obvious answer is that the fiscal response is not big enough and that more must be done .
We think that ’ s half-right .
More must and will be done .
But maybe we should return to that first bad idea about the efficiency of markets .
Are these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bailing out again with taxpayer money , and that are tanking our savings and retirement plans once again—really fit for their supposed purpose ?
One clue that the markets aren ’ t working for us are those U.S. airlines that are now asking for a $ 50 billion bailout .
Those same airlines spent the past decade abusing customers , charging usurious fees for basic services , and squeezing their employees .
They then used almost their entire free cash flow to buy back their own shares , juicing the returns to stockholders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ themselves financially fragile .
Surely their shareholders and management deserve to bear the cost this time around ?
The airlines were not alone .
Since 2008 , the world ’ s corporations have accumulated debts totaling some $ 13.5 trillion , as they counted on the Fed and other central banks to keep interest rates near or below zero for the long term .
Yet rather than invest the cash they raised in productive investment , including in their employee ’ s skills , they used most of the cash to buy back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their options .
Why bother with real engineering when financial engineering is so much easier ?
And now this pile of debt may also have to be bought or guaranteed by the Fed , which is backed by the taxpayer at the end of the day.Why do we continue to aid and abet a small class of insiders using their overleveraged companies to extort bailouts from society ?
The result of such largesse and excessive risk-taking was to make the system as a whole extremely vulnerable to a shock .
This was the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ previous financial crisis—instead , we doubled down .
This vulnerability reaches all the way down to the ordinary people our market economies are supposed to serve .
In 2016 , most Americans still had not rebuilt the wealth they had in 2007 .
Nearly half of Americans would struggle to get $ 2,000 together in a crisis , and even a $ 400 expense could render many insolvent .
At the same time , the United States has cut taxes to the tune of $ 1.5 trillion , almost all of which went @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own almost all the stocks and bonds that are now tanking , and who will benefit the most from any bailouts .
Let ’ s stop for a moment and ask what society needs most at this moment .
In fact , let ’ s ask a more fundamental question : Why do we continue to aid and abet a small class of insiders using their fragile , overleveraged companies to generate their own profits and extort bailouts from society ?
Should we not fundamentally rethink this perverse social contract , and reform @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this way in the future ?
Given this moment of clarity , we should recognize that governments around the world face a crisis that they can turn into an opportunity .
As a first step , there is a compelling case for a “ post-interest rate ” monetary policy that no longer relies on interest rates as a primary lever to influence markets .
Specifically , central banks should directly finance government spending and directly finance or underwrite credit to important sectors of the economy .
With interest rates near zero or negative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ firepower .
Central banks can make this clear by explicitly outlining the scope of available spending , or directly requesting governments to spend .
For the Federal Reserve , the necessary step is to directly finance the stimulus by offering to buy all the bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury , as well as publicly underwriting the markets for Treasury bills and asset-backed commercial credit in order to guarantee liquidity .
No more temporary liquidity injections , but a public guarantee that investors will be paid .
Tax rebates to corporations and direct @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should be extended for the duration of the crisis .
Such credit and liquidity support should be targeted at ensuring that corporations are able to pay all creditors , and most importantly , to pay their employees .
Speed is of the essence .
Moreover , the process should be beyond partisan politics .
Neither Congress nor the executive branch , but the Federal Reserve , should issue monthly checks to workers .
When conditions normalize , the checks should stop .
But we can and should go further .
What this crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of who benefits from financial markets , but the complete lack of assets in the hands of ordinary people that they can fall back on in moments of crisis .
This is a time to begin to rebuild those assets , make our society less fragile , and reform markets so that they are no longer a public liability that only benefits a tiny class of insiders .
• First , use this moment to establish a citizens ’ wealth fund .
Such a fund would buy up all the heavily discounted equities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dumped by panicking investors .
It would be cheaply financed by issuing government bonds at current near-zero interest rates—safe assets craved by investors in the current moment .
Not only would this help set a floor under share prices , but this time around the fund would not hand back any shares to the private sector at the end of the crisis .
Rather , the fund would keep the shares in trust for the nation , manage its holdings passively and independently , and pay out the long-run equity upside to citizens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in our forthcoming book , Angrynomics .
• Second , let ’ s attack the core issues creating inequality and social fragility—housing and student loans .
The almost exclusively private provision of housing since 1980 has made owning a home beyond the reach of most workers , especially in urban areas .
Add to this diminished consumption among young people due to the combination of excessive debts and low wages , and you get conditions for permanent low growth even in the absence of a pandemic disease .
Ordering the Fed to take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing for Main Street what it already does for Wall Street—combined with a commitment to build much more public housing over the next decade—would boost construction employment while redistributing wealth from asset-rich homeowners to asset-poor renters , buoying overall consumption .
• Third , this time , let ’ s get serious about reforming financial markets so that they actually produce wealth for all .
This time , let ’ s get serious about reforming financial markets so that they actually produce wealth for all .
Buybacks should be banned or limited for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such as Boeing spends 74 percent of its free cash flow on share buybacks , that firm ’ s fragility becomes everyone ’ s problem .
Likewise , credit rating agencies should take a much more skeptical eye to corporate debt , downgrading heavily indebted companies and removing the incentives for ever-higher financial leverage so that future bailout risk is reduced .
And can we please rethink high-frequency algorithmic trading of equities by hedge funds and other financial institutions ?
With computers now making roughly 40 percent of all stock trades , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as these programs feed on the very volatility that the monetary authorities are trying to calm .
• Fourth , let ’ s take antitrust seriously again .
Market concentration has become an issue across large parts of the economy , with too-big-to-fail companies and quasi-monopolies cropping up everywhere , from the banking sector to pharmaceuticals .
And while we are at it , the one part of the economy that is bound to do well in the current moment is digital services , whose leading companies like Google and Facebook have near-monopoly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them the data we currently give away for free so we can share in their growth too , just like we do with mobile spectrum auctions for telecommunications companies .
• Fifth , let ’ s finally deal with health insurance .
If this crisis doesn ’ t convince us that having almost 30 million uninsured Americans is not a problem that affects everyone , then nothing will .
Whether you call it “ Medicare for All ” or something else , basic health insurance for all Americans—insurance not held captive by private @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anyone facing health risks—should be an obvious priority .
In sum , the United States and Europe need to go much farther than they have with their barrage of market interventions over the past week .
But they should think beyond the immediate crisis to fix the underlying fragilities that made this crisis so severe in the first place .
The EU and its members have no excuse except boneheaded adherence to rules that are clearly not fit for the purpose .
The United States has no excuse at all .
Armed with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dollar , the United States has all the flexibility and resources to turn this crisis into an opportunity .

At a time of coronavirus-induced panic in the financial markets, there are two wrong ideas about supporting the economy in a downturn that still haunt us. One possible upside of the current crisis is that these two ideas may finally be buried for good. And when they are, we might use this rare moment of clarity to fundamentally rethink who these markets, and their perennial bailouts, benefit in the first place.
At a time of coronavirus-induced panic in the financial markets, there are two wrong ideas about supporting the economy in a downturn that still haunt us. One possible upside of the current crisis is that these two ideas may finally be buried for good. And when they are, we might use this rare moment of clarity to fundamentally rethink who these markets, and their perennial bailouts, benefit in the first place.
The first of these ideas is that investors, when they decide to buy or sell their assets, are responding rationally to information. That is, markets are “efficient,” and therefore the best way to organize how a society chooses to invest. This idea is challenged by what we have seen in the financial markets over the past two weeks. Panicking investors are responding to uncertainty, not information. Central banks around the world have rightly intervened to try to stabilize markets that have been anything but efficient.
The second is that the best way to deal with a collapse in spending by consumers and companies—such as we face as a result of the coronavirus pandemic—is to restore confidence by cutting government budgets, also known as austerity policies. That governments around the world have rushed to announce emergency spending measures to compensate for a sudden and colossal seizure in economic activity suggests that this bad idea, too, is finally dead.The response so far has been mostly impressive. Why, then, are markets still falling?
Attempts to stabilize the markets began last week. The U.S. Federal Reserve has cut interest rates as low as zero, pumped liquidity into the markets for Treasury bills and commercial credit, and relaxed collateral rules and reserve requirements for banks to keep cash flowing. Congress is now debating not whether to spend, but how much—up to $1 trillion. The executive branch has authorized a payroll tax deferral of 90 days and is planning direct cash transfers to households.
After sitting on its hands last week, the European Central Bank has now announced its own “bazooka”—a 750 billion euro ($800 billion) bond-buying program, looser collateral requirements, a new refinancing program for banks, and an expansion of existing “quantitative easing” programs. Various fiscal spending programs are emerging too.
Listen Now: Don't Touch Your Face A new podcast from Foreign Policy covering all aspects of the coronavirus pandemic Learn More
The response so far has been mostly impressive. Why, then, are markets still falling?
The most obvious answer is that the fiscal response is not big enough and that more must be done. We think that’s half-right. More must and will be done. But maybe we should return to that first bad idea about the efficiency of markets. Are these markets that we have built—that we are bailing out again with taxpayer money, and that are tanking our savings and retirement plans once again—really fit for their supposed purpose?
One clue that the markets aren’t working for us are those U.S. airlines that are now asking for a $50 billion bailout. Those same airlines spent the past decade abusing customers, charging usurious fees for basic services, and squeezing their employees. They then used almost their entire free cash flow to buy back their own shares, juicing the returns to stockholders and C-suite insiders while leaving the companies themselves financially fragile. Surely their shareholders and management deserve to bear the cost this time around?
The airlines were not alone. Since 2008, the world’s corporations have accumulated debts totaling some $13.5 trillion, as they counted on the Fed and other central banks to keep interest rates near or below zero for the long term. Yet rather than invest the cash they raised in productive investment, including in their employee’s skills, they used most of the cash to buy back their shares and award themselves profits on their options. Why bother with real engineering when financial engineering is so much easier? And now this pile of debt may also have to be bought or guaranteed by the Fed, which is backed by the taxpayer at the end of the day.Why do we continue to aid and abet a small class of insiders using their overleveraged companies to extort bailouts from society?
The result of such largesse and excessive risk-taking was to make the system as a whole extremely vulnerable to a shock. This was the lesson we should have learned in the previous financial crisis—instead, we doubled down. This vulnerability reaches all the way down to the ordinary people our market economies are supposed to serve. In 2016, most Americans still had not rebuilt the wealth they had in 2007. Nearly half of Americans would struggle to get $2,000 together in a crisis, and even a $400 expense could render many insolvent. At the same time, the United States has cut taxes to the tune of $1.5 trillion, almost all of which went to the richest Americans—the same folks who own almost all the stocks and bonds that are now tanking, and who will benefit the most from any bailouts.
Let’s stop for a moment and ask what society needs most at this moment. In fact, let’s ask a more fundamental question: Why do we continue to aid and abet a small class of insiders using their fragile, overleveraged companies to generate their own profits and extort bailouts from society? Should we not fundamentally rethink this perverse social contract, and reform markets so they cannot hurt us this way in the future?
Given this moment of clarity, we should recognize that governments around the world face a crisis that they can turn into an opportunity. As a first step, there is a compelling case for a “post-interest rate” monetary policy that no longer relies on interest rates as a primary lever to influence markets. Specifically, central banks should directly finance government spending and directly finance or underwrite credit to important sectors of the economy.
Read More Pedestrians wearing face masks walk toward an electric board showing stocks' share price Pedestrians wearing face masks walk toward an electric board showing stocks' share price Is the Coronavirus Crash Worse Than the 2008 Financial Crisis? The last global economic crisis was a financial heart attack. This one might be a full-body seizure. Voice | Adam Tooze Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Kathmandu, Nepal, for a summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation on Nov. 25, 2014. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Kathmandu, Nepal, for a summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation on Nov. 25, 2014. India Is Pushing Back Against China in South Asia Beijing’s attempts to encircle New Delhi are being systematically reversed. Analysis | Derek Grossman Visitors to the Dobbins Outlook view the lights of Phoenix, which is now the fifth-largest city in the United States. Visitors to the Dobbins Outlook view the lights of Phoenix, which is now the fifth-largest city in the United States. Arizona Is Not Running Out of Water or Workers The state will remain a destination for foreign investment due to a skilled workforce, leadership in water conservation, and low tax burdens. Response | Danny Seiden
With interest rates near zero or negative, governments have immense, unused fiscal firepower. Central banks can make this clear by explicitly outlining the scope of available spending, or directly requesting governments to spend. For the Federal Reserve, the necessary step is to directly finance the stimulus by offering to buy all the bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury, as well as publicly underwriting the markets for Treasury bills and asset-backed commercial credit in order to guarantee liquidity. No more temporary liquidity injections, but a public guarantee that investors will be paid.
Tax rebates to corporations and direct support for households, already underway, should be extended for the duration of the crisis. Such credit and liquidity support should be targeted at ensuring that corporations are able to pay all creditors, and most importantly, to pay their employees. Speed is of the essence. Moreover, the process should be beyond partisan politics. Neither Congress nor the executive branch, but the Federal Reserve, should issue monthly checks to workers. When conditions normalize, the checks should stop.
But we can and should go further.
What this crisis has exposed is not just the asymmetry of who benefits from financial markets, but the complete lack of assets in the hands of ordinary people that they can fall back on in moments of crisis. This is a time to begin to rebuild those assets, make our society less fragile, and reform markets so that they are no longer a public liability that only benefits a tiny class of insiders.
First, use this moment to establish a citizens’ wealth fund. Such a fund would buy up all the heavily discounted equities in the stock markets that have been dumped by panicking investors. It would be cheaply financed by issuing government bonds at current near-zero interest rates—safe assets craved by investors in the current moment. Not only would this help set a floor under share prices, but this time around the fund would not hand back any shares to the private sector at the end of the crisis. Rather, the fund would keep the shares in trust for the nation, manage its holdings passively and independently, and pay out the long-run equity upside to citizens who lack assets, as we describe in our forthcoming book, Angrynomics.
Second, let’s attack the core issues creating inequality and social fragility—housing and student loans. The almost exclusively private provision of housing since 1980 has made owning a home beyond the reach of most workers, especially in urban areas. Add to this diminished consumption among young people due to the combination of excessive debts and low wages, and you get conditions for permanent low growth even in the absence of a pandemic disease. Ordering the Fed to take over the student loan book, effectively doing for Main Street what it already does for Wall Street—combined with a commitment to build much more public housing over the next decade—would boost construction employment while redistributing wealth from asset-rich homeowners to asset-poor renters, buoying overall consumption.
Third, this time, let’s get serious about reforming financial markets so that they actually produce wealth for all. This time, let’s get serious about reforming financial markets so that they actually produce wealth for all. Buybacks should be banned or limited for legitimate balance-sheet management. When a firm such as Boeing spends 74 percent of its free cash flow on share buybacks, that firm’s fragility becomes everyone’s problem. Likewise, credit rating agencies should take a much more skeptical eye to corporate debt, downgrading heavily indebted companies and removing the incentives for ever-higher financial leverage so that future bailout risk is reduced. And can we please rethink high-frequency algorithmic trading of equities by hedge funds and other financial institutions? With computers now making roughly 40 percent of all stock trades, we have created the ultimate perverse feedback loop as these programs feed on the very volatility that the monetary authorities are trying to calm.
Fourth, let’s take antitrust seriously again. Market concentration has become an issue across large parts of the economy, with too-big-to-fail companies and quasi-monopolies cropping up everywhere, from the banking sector to pharmaceuticals. And while we are at it, the one part of the economy that is bound to do well in the current moment is digital services, whose leading companies like Google and Facebook have near-monopoly profits. Let’s start selling them the data we currently give away for free so we can share in their growth too, just like we do with mobile spectrum auctions for telecommunications companies.
seriously again. Market concentration has become an issue across large parts of the economy, with too-big-to-fail companies and quasi-monopolies cropping up everywhere, from the banking sector to pharmaceuticals. And while we are at it, the one part of the economy that is bound to do well in the current moment is digital services, whose leading companies like Google and Facebook have near-monopoly profits. Let’s start selling them the data we currently give away for free so we can share in their growth too, just like we do with mobile spectrum auctions for telecommunications companies. Fifth, let’s finally deal with health insurance. If this crisis doesn’t convince us that having almost 30 million uninsured Americans is not a problem that affects everyone, then nothing will. Whether you call it “Medicare for All” or something else, basic health insurance for all Americans—insurance not held captive by private insurance companies which actively seek to avoid anyone facing health risks—should be an obvious priority.
In sum, the United States and Europe need to go much farther than they have with their barrage of market interventions over the past week. But they should think beyond the immediate crisis to fix the underlying fragilities that made this crisis so severe in the first place. The EU and its members have no excuse except boneheaded adherence to rules that are clearly not fit for the purpose. The United States has no excuse at all. Armed with the global reserve asset, the U.S. dollar, the United States has all the flexibility and resources to turn this crisis into an opportunity.


foreignpolicy--2020-03-20--You Can’t Practice Social Distancing if You’re a Refugee

BEIRUT—To Khaled Abdul Razaq al-Dasher , the call for “ social distancing ” amid the coronavirus pandemic is a cruel joke .
Dasher shares a tent in Lebanon ’ s Bekaa Valley with nine family members , all of them refugees from the Syrian civil war .
Around 500 people live in the informal camp .
The next tent over is just 5 feet away , a foot or so short of what ’ s recommended by public health experts .
They have sheets of tarpaulin and plastic that make the walls between them , but so much as stepping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unadvisable risk .
The drum that feeds their tents running water is shared with a neighboring family , and sometimes it runs out .
Instead of the frequent hand-washing being recommended globally , Dasher and his family are wiping their hands with alcohol and cleaning with chlorine .
“ But supplies are running a little low , ” he said .
And the coronavirus pandemic is drawing nearer .
“ Social distancing is a privilege , ” said Sahar Tawfeeq , a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Iraq @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : # StayHome .
They can ’ t do that .
They don ’ t have a home to stay in.
” The United Nations and aid organizations are now faced with the task of trying to protect the world ’ s 70 million displaced people from a virus that has devastated some of the world ’ s best health care systems .
In the Middle East , millions of people forced to flee due to the war in Syria , the fight against the Islamic State , and other conflicts remain displaced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overcrowded or unfinished buildings .
“ All the basic things you need to prevent an outbreak are missing , ” said Misty Buswell , the Middle East policy director for the International Rescue Committee .
Often , it ’ s not that camps have weak health systems—which experts warn will be overrun by the coronavirus—but that they have no health system at all .
Dasher ’ s home in the suburbs of Aleppo , which his family fled in 2011 , had a proper bathroom and running water and would provide much better @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threatens his family .
But it ’ s still not safe to return .
He said he ’ s not scared for himself but worries about his elderly parents who live in a neighboring tent with siblings .
The two tents share one bathroom .
“ People think refugees are stupid , but we aren ’ t hicks , ” said Dasher , who trained as a nurse in Syria , “ It ’ s just our resources are scarce.
” Across the region , aid groups are stepping up distribution of soap @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus .
In Iraq , where 1.5 million people remain displaced , camps are being sprayed with disinfectant .
Some tents hold more than 15 family members .
Iraqis in camps are doing the best they can to follow the health guidelines , and the International Committee of the Red Cross has distributed extra food and hygiene kits to some of the camps this week .
But , Tawfeeq said , “ You can ’ t tell someone to use soap and clean if they don ’ t have any.
” Camps in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been mostly sealed off .
Jordan took a similar measure this week .
And those living in camps and informal settlements are becoming fearful of outsiders entering , knowing that they could be bringing the virus .
“ If there was one case in a camp , there it ’ s a huge problem , ” Tawfeeq said .
Dasher has stopped visiting other tents and said , with the exception of emergencies , they are not allowed to leave .
“ They told us we should wear gloves and masks if we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with any yet , ” said Dasher , who spoke by phone because a journalist entering would put the community at unnecessary risk .
So far there are no confirmed cases of the virus in any of the Middle East ’ s hundreds of camps and informal settlements , but that doesn ’ t mean it ’ s not there .
All the refugee-hosting countries have rising numbers of infections , but testing in the camps has been scarce .
Dasher said he hasn ’ t seen any testing where he lives .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ handful of suspected cases were tested last week and came back negative .
“ It could create a false and dangerous sense of comfort , ” said Muhammad Hamid Zaman , a professor of biomedical engineering and international health at Boston University who has worked in camps across the Middle East .
“ Just because we don ’ t have data doesn ’ t mean the problem doesn ’ t exist.
” There is little information , added Zaman , even on how many tests have been carried out among displaced populations , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not bliss .
He said many refugees and internally displaced people are already vulnerable after years—or even decades—of poor nutrition and health care .
In the region ’ s dozens of Palestinian camps , refugees live in permanent structures , but they are still densely populated , with only dark narrow alleys between apartments and often several generations sharing a living space .
Meanwhile in Idlib , Syria , 2 million displaced civilians face the virus under a shaky cease-fire brokered by Turkey and Russia earlier this month .
Hundreds of thousands of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with several families sharing a single tent .
A return to conflict could mean thousands of people on the move , and Buswell said in that scenario it would be almost impossible to assist them .
People who work in the opposition ’ s health directorate in Idlib say they are preparing the best they can considering so many health facilities have been destroyed by bombings , and they are trying to raise awareness among Idlib ’ s population .
“ People are very indifferent due to the concerns of life , displacement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Zakaria , a doctor who is part of the directorate .
Syria is claiming to have no cases of the virus , but reports have called that into question .
There is a risk that well-intentioned humanitarians could bring the virus to vulnerable populations , especially considering the alarming rates of asymptotic transmission .
The U.N. and aid agencies are now training staff on safety and prevention for the coronavirus , but last week one aid worker who had visited the refugees in Lebanon ’ s Bekaa Valley tested positive for the virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s World Food Program—inconveniently headquartered in Rome , where the coronavirus has run rampant—put out new guidelines for food distribution this week that include noncontact rules , mandatory temperature checks , and instructions for making a hand-washing solution with 0.5 percent bleach for use by aid recipients .
In countries like Lebanon , rather than handing out bags of rice and jugs of oil , U.N. agencies and nongovernmental organizations have long transferred cash to refugees to buy food and other essentials , but it ’ s not enough for stocking up—and news @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seem like another cruel joke .
The U.N. ’ s refugee agency has launched an $ 33 million appeal to deal with the crisis , but so many states that might usually donate are struggling to contain their own outbreaks .
Refugees will face an unprecedented competition for emergency medical resources , as organizations like Doctors Without Borders , which usually assists the world ’ s most vulnerable , send teams to places like Italy .
In that competition for global health resources , refugees are likely to lose .
“ Everyone is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in their own country , ” Buswell said .
“ But this virus doesn ’ t respect borders.
” Even with aid and medical supplies donated to some countries , it ’ s not clear how much will trickle down to refugees .
Zaman , the Boston University professor , said that on top of the physical vulnerability of being unable to self-isolate and lack of health and hygiene facilities , refugees also face an incredible stigma , often scapegoats amid crisis .
If the virus spreads rapidly in the camp , local @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country on commercial airliners .
Borders are closing at an unprecedented rate , and resettlement , the miracle granted to just 1 percent of refugees that gives hope to millions , has been temporarily halted .
“ A Syrian is already in a precarious position , ” said Dasher , “ so they are concerned about what happens if they get ill. ” Some Syrian refugees in Lebanon worry that they will not be treated in the country ’ s hospitals if they do catch the virus .
There is no indication that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ struggle to treat their own populations , it ’ s very possible refugees could be deprioritized .
“ On a certain level , looking after your own is natural , but if that ’ s all you do , it ’ s problematic , ” Zaman said .

BEIRUT—To Khaled Abdul Razaq al-Dasher, the call for “social distancing” amid the coronavirus pandemic is a cruel joke.
Dasher shares a tent in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley with nine family members, all of them refugees from the Syrian civil war. Around 500 people live in the informal camp. The next tent over is just 5 feet away, a foot or so short of what’s recommended by public health experts. They have sheets of tarpaulin and plastic that make the walls between them, but so much as stepping out of the tent puts them at unadvisable risk. The drum that feeds their tents running water is shared with a neighboring family, and sometimes it runs out. Instead of the frequent hand-washing being recommended globally, Dasher and his family are wiping their hands with alcohol and cleaning with chlorine.
“But supplies are running a little low,” he said.
And the coronavirus pandemic is drawing nearer. “Social distancing is a privilege,” said Sahar Tawfeeq, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Iraq. “There is a hashtag trending: #StayHome. They can’t do that. They don’t have a home to stay in.”
[Mapping the Coronavirus Outbreak: Get daily updates on the pandemic and learn how it’s affecting countries around the world.]
The United Nations and aid organizations are now faced with the task of trying to protect the world’s 70 million displaced people from a virus that has devastated some of the world’s best health care systems. In the Middle East, millions of people forced to flee due to the war in Syria, the fight against the Islamic State, and other conflicts remain displaced in camps, informal settlements, and overcrowded or unfinished buildings.
“All the basic things you need to prevent an outbreak are missing,” said Misty Buswell, the Middle East policy director for the International Rescue Committee. Often, it’s not that camps have weak health systems—which experts warn will be overrun by the coronavirus—but that they have no health system at all.
Dasher’s home in the suburbs of Aleppo, which his family fled in 2011, had a proper bathroom and running water and would provide much better protection from the invisible virus that now threatens his family. But it’s still not safe to return. He said he’s not scared for himself but worries about his elderly parents who live in a neighboring tent with siblings. The two tents share one bathroom.
“People think refugees are stupid, but we aren’t hicks,” said Dasher, who trained as a nurse in Syria, “It’s just our resources are scarce.”
Listen Now: Don't Touch Your Face A new podcast from Foreign Policy covering all aspects of the coronavirus pandemic Learn More
Across the region, aid groups are stepping up distribution of soap, water, and information about the virus. In Iraq, where 1.5 million people remain displaced, camps are being sprayed with disinfectant. Some tents hold more than 15 family members. Iraqis in camps are doing the best they can to follow the health guidelines, and the International Committee of the Red Cross has distributed extra food and hygiene kits to some of the camps this week. But, Tawfeeq said, “You can’t tell someone to use soap and clean if they don’t have any.”
Camps in the Kurdish region in the north have been mostly sealed off. Jordan took a similar measure this week. And those living in camps and informal settlements are becoming fearful of outsiders entering, knowing that they could be bringing the virus.
“If there was one case in a camp, there it’s a huge problem,” Tawfeeq said.
Dasher has stopped visiting other tents and said, with the exception of emergencies, they are not allowed to leave. “They told us we should wear gloves and masks if we go out but have not provided us with any yet,” said Dasher, who spoke by phone because a journalist entering would put the community at unnecessary risk.
So far there are no confirmed cases of the virus in any of the Middle East’s hundreds of camps and informal settlements, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. All the refugee-hosting countries have rising numbers of infections, but testing in the camps has been scarce. Dasher said he hasn’t seen any testing where he lives. In a camp in Iraq, a handful of suspected cases were tested last week and came back negative.
“It could create a false and dangerous sense of comfort,” said Muhammad Hamid Zaman, a professor of biomedical engineering and international health at Boston University who has worked in camps across the Middle East. “Just because we don’t have data doesn’t mean the problem doesn’t exist.”
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There is little information, added Zaman, even on how many tests have been carried out among displaced populations, and with COVID-19, ignorance is surely not bliss. He said many refugees and internally displaced people are already vulnerable after years—or even decades—of poor nutrition and health care.
In the region’s dozens of Palestinian camps, refugees live in permanent structures, but they are still densely populated, with only dark narrow alleys between apartments and often several generations sharing a living space.
Meanwhile in Idlib, Syria, 2 million displaced civilians face the virus under a shaky cease-fire brokered by Turkey and Russia earlier this month. Hundreds of thousands of people there live in camps, sometimes with several families sharing a single tent. A return to conflict could mean thousands of people on the move, and Buswell said in that scenario it would be almost impossible to assist them.
People who work in the opposition’s health directorate in Idlib say they are preparing the best they can considering so many health facilities have been destroyed by bombings, and they are trying to raise awareness among Idlib’s population.
“People are very indifferent due to the concerns of life, displacement, and bombing,” said Waseem Zakaria, a doctor who is part of the directorate.
Syria is claiming to have no cases of the virus, but reports have called that into question.
Aid organizations have faced tough decisions. Most have canceled all nonessential programming, only continuing work related to health, hygiene, and food, with the goal of limiting the number of people entering the camps.
There is a risk that well-intentioned humanitarians could bring the virus to vulnerable populations, especially considering the alarming rates of asymptotic transmission.
The U.N. and aid agencies are now training staff on safety and prevention for the coronavirus, but last week one aid worker who had visited the refugees in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley tested positive for the virus, raising concern.
The U.N.’s World Food Program—inconveniently headquartered in Rome, where the coronavirus has run rampant—put out new guidelines for food distribution this week that include noncontact rules, mandatory temperature checks, and instructions for making a hand-washing solution with 0.5 percent bleach for use by aid recipients.
In countries like Lebanon, rather than handing out bags of rice and jugs of oil, U.N. agencies and nongovernmental organizations have long transferred cash to refugees to buy food and other essentials, but it’s not enough for stocking up—and news of people panic-buying food or disinfectant must seem like another cruel joke.
The U.N.’s refugee agency has launched an $33 million appeal to deal with the crisis, but so many states that might usually donate are struggling to contain their own outbreaks. Refugees will face an unprecedented competition for emergency medical resources, as organizations like Doctors Without Borders, which usually assists the world’s most vulnerable, send teams to places like Italy. In that competition for global health resources, refugees are likely to lose.
“Everyone is very focused on what’s happening in their own country,” Buswell said. “But this virus doesn’t respect borders.”
Even with aid and medical supplies donated to some countries, it’s not clear how much will trickle down to refugees. Zaman, the Boston University professor, said that on top of the physical vulnerability of being unable to self-isolate and lack of health and hygiene facilities, refugees also face an incredible stigma, often scapegoats amid crisis. If the virus spreads rapidly in the camp, local populations may forget that it entered the country on commercial airliners. Borders are closing at an unprecedented rate, and resettlement, the miracle granted to just 1 percent of refugees that gives hope to millions, has been temporarily halted.
“A Syrian is already in a precarious position,” said Dasher, “so they are concerned about what happens if they get ill.”
Some Syrian refugees in Lebanon worry that they will not be treated in the country’s hospitals if they do catch the virus. There is no indication that is true, but as health systems struggle to treat their own populations, it’s very possible refugees could be deprioritized.
“On a certain level, looking after your own is natural, but if that’s all you do, it’s problematic,” Zaman said.