Coronavirus In The U.S.: Public Health Emergency Declared; Travel Restrictions Issued; Americans Quarantined; And More

Reuters: U.S. Declares Coronavirus A Public Health Emergency
The Trump administration on Friday declared a public health emergency over the coronavirus outbreak and said it would bar entry to the United States starting on Sunday of foreign nationals who have traveled to China. U.S. citizens who have traveled to China's Hubei Province within the last 14 days will be subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told a media briefing at the White House on Friday. (2/1)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Imposes Entry Restrictions Over Coronavirus
At the same time, Mr. Azar sought to minimize fears about the virus spreading further in the U.S. “I hope that people will see that their government is taking responsible steps to protect them,” he said at a White House briefing. “The risk is low…but our job is to keep that risk low.” There are seven confirmed cases in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, while 191 other people are being checked for possible infection, HHS officials said. The number of people infected in China approached 12,000 as the death toll from the pneumonia-causing virus rose to 259 as of late Friday, according to China’s National Health Commission. (Leary and Abbott, 1/31)

The Washington Post: State Department Tells Citizens ‘Do Not Travel’ To China; World Health Organization Declares Coronavirus Outbreak A Global Health Emergency
The State Department heightened its travel advisory for China on Thursday, urging citizens not to travel there due to the rapid spread of coronavirus. The announcement came hours after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “public health emergency,” setting in motion a plan for global coordination to stem the spread of the virus, which originated last month in Wuhan, China. (Denyer, Sun, Berger, Taylor and Iati, 1/30)

NPR: Trump Declares Coronavirus A Public Health Emergency And Restricts Travel From China
In their Friday remarks, federal health officials pointed to the fast global spread of the virus as justification for the move. The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency on Thursday. U.S. officials also tried to explain their reasoning for an intense focus on this outbreak, which so far has not led to any deaths in the U.S., though it has led to more than 250 in China. (Aubrey, 1/31)

Politico: White House Seeks To Calm U.S. Fears Over Wuhan Coronavirus
White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien on Sunday sought to quell fears over the Wuhan coronavirus, saying the outbreak poses “low risk” now in the United States. “Right now there's no reason for Americans to panic. This is something that is a low risk, we think in the U.S,” O’Brien said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” (Cammarata, 2/2)

The Hill: National Security Adviser: No Reason For Americans To Panic Over Coronavirus
“There's no reason for Americans to panic,” O’Brien said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “This is something that is a low risk, we think, in the U.S. But President Trump, from the day he took office, made protecting Americans and keeping them safe, whether it's from terrorists or criminal organizations or from viruses like the new novel coronavirus is top priority. So we're taking steps to keep Americans safe and the government is functioning in that direction.” (Klar, 2/2)

The New York Times: Trump Defends Closing Borders To Travelers To Fight Coronavirus
President Trump defended a decision that would bar foreign nationals who had recently visited China from entering the United States as his administration continued to assess the growing threat of a coronavirus outbreak. Sitting with the Fox News personality Sean Hannity, Mr. Trump used a roughly nine-minute interview taped on Saturday evening at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Florida, and broadcast on Sunday as an opportunity to condense his usual rally-speak into Super Bowl pregame chatter. The topics included the virus, his impeachment and quick-paced insults of his potential 2020 rivals. (Rogers, 2/2)

The Associated Press: DHS: New Screening To Begin Amid Coronavirus Concerns
As the U.S. steps up its response to the coronavirus outbreak, the Department of Homeland Security is warning airline passengers that their flights may wind up rerouted if officials discover mid-flight that someone onboard has been in China in the last 14 days. And Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said a “handful” of flights will be heading to China to bring Americans back home from Hubei Province, which is at the heart of the outbreak. (2/2)

The Hill: TSA Tells Airlines To Ask Passengers If They've Been To China
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has told airlines to ask passengers on international flights if they’ve been to mainland China in the past two weeks.The TSA issued the directive Saturday to go into effect Sunday at 5 p.m. ET in light of the new coronavirus spreading to 14,000 cases in more than 20 countries and territories, CNN reported. U.S. citizens who have traveled to China in the past 14 days will be allowed to enter the country in one of seven airports: Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle-Tacoma, Chicago O’Hare, Atlanta and John F. Kennedy International airports, TSA administrator David Pekoske said in an email sent Saturday to employees. (Coleman, 2/2)

The Washington Post: More Than 11,800 People In China Have Been Diagnosed With Coronavirus, The Country’s Health Experts Confirm; U.S. To Deny Entry To Foreign Nationals Who Recently Visited China And Quarantine Returning Americans
Following a quarantine order issued Friday, which government officials said was last used in the 1960s, evacuees held at a base in California will have their movements tightly controlled for 14 days after they left China because health experts are still uncertain about how readily the virus spreads. (Mahtani, Sun, Berger, Taylor and Iati, 1/31)

NPR: Coronavirus: CDC Puts Americans Who Left Wuhan Into 'Unprecedented' 14-Day Quarantine
"This is the first time in over 50 years that CDC has issued a quarantine order," said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC. "While we understand this action may seem drastic, our goal today, tomorrow and always continues to be the safety of the American public." (Chappell, 1/31)

The New York Times: ‘Scared And Panicked’: Travelers Rush To Avoid Virus Quarantine
Amid canceled flights, tightening global travel restrictions and looming plans to quarantine Americans returning from China, the tension at a handful of airports still receiving flights from the country mounted on Sunday as travelers described a scramble for the few remaining tickets out of China and federal officials readied military bases to house hundreds of people potentially exposed to the deadly coronavirus. “It feels like trying to leave Paris in 1940 or something — there’s a bit of panic settling in,” said Jeffrey Phillips, 41, who was unsure when his wife, Sue, would be able to return to the United States after a trip to visit her family in China. (Lin, Fuller and Fausset, 2/1)

ABC News: Life Inside The American Coronavirus Quarantine For A Professional Football Player
It's day five for 195 Americans inside the quarantine zone at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California. Jarred Evans may be stuck, but he's hardly taking it easy. "No days off," says Evans, 27. The professional football player has good reason to stay in shape: after playing quarterback for the Wuhan Berserkers for two years, Evans is due to report to another pro team in Switzerland by Feb. 17. (Sandell and Maravilla, 2/2)

Reuters: China Says Coronavirus Death Toll Rises To 361, Confirmed Cases 17,205
The total number of deaths from a coronavirus epidemic in China rose to 361 as of Sunday, up 57 from the previous day, the National Health Commission said. It said 56 of the new deaths were in Hubei province, and one in the municipality of Chongqing. (2/3)

Stat: To Fight Coronavirus Spread, U.S. May Expand 'Social Distancing' Measures
Canceling large public gatherings. Asking students to stay home from school. Closing down borders. Many places around the world have already implemented such drastic steps in response to the new coronavirus outbreak that originated in China and has spread to at least 27 territories outside mainland China. If the U.S., which has 11 cases so far, begins to see sustained human-to-human transmission, health officials may also have to rapidly step up their own use of “social distancing” measures to prevent further spread. (Chakradhar, 2/3)

Reuters: Biden Slams Trump For Cutting Health Programs Before Coronavirus Outbreak
Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden on Friday criticized President Donald Trump for reducing U.S. oversight of global health issues before the coronavirus outbreak in China, which has spread rapidly to several countries including the United States. "We have, right now, a crisis with the coronavirus," said Biden, who is in Iowa campaigning before the Midwestern farm state holds Democrats' first nominating contest on Monday. (Hunnicutt, 2/1)

CNN: Coronavirus Travel Restrictions In US: Chinese Official Says It's An Overreaction
On Monday, a spokeswoman for China's Foreign Ministry accused the US government of inappropriately reacting to the outbreak. "Even American media and experts doubted the government's decision, saying that the US government's restrictions on China are precisely what the WHO rejects, that the US is turning from overconfidence to fear and overreaction, and that banning the entry of foreigners who traveled to China in the past 14 days is suspected to be violating civil rights instead of reducing risks of virus spreading," Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.(Maxouris, 2/3)

Bloomberg: China Blasts U.S. For ‘Overreaction’ To Virus, Spreading Fear
Beijing’s harsh words bring the tensions between the two countries back into focus, after they spent the last two years engaged in a trade war that undermined growth in the world’s two biggest economies. China’s death toll has climbed to 361 and its confirmed cases now top 17,000, fueling skepticism about the government’s ability to constrain it. (Leigh and Li, 2/3)

The Hill: Defense Secretary Approves Request For Housing Assistance To Contain Coronavirus
Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper approved a request from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Saturday to provide housing assistance for about 1,000 overseas travelers upon arrival from China that may have to be quarantined for exposure to the coronavirus. The Department of Defense (DOD) will provide housing, while all other aspects of the quarantine like medical care, monitoring and transportation will be handled by HHS. "Under the request, DOD will only provide housing support, while HHS will be responsible for all care, transportation, and security of the evacuees" a spokesperson for the DOD said in a statement obtained by The Hill via email. (Moreno, 2/1)

California Healthline: Public Health Officials Offer Scant Details On U.S. Coronavirus Patients
Disclosure this week of an eighth case in the United States of a new viral infection emerging from China — in addition to the first confirmed case of the virus passing from person to person in this country — is fueling public concerns about how easily the deadly virus can spread. It is also raising pointed questions about why authorities aren’t disclosing more information about the risk of exposure. (Barry-Jester and Almendrala, 1/31)

WBUR: U.S. Hospitals Unprepared For A Quickly Spreading Coronavirus
If the coronavirus spreads more widely, can U.S. hospitals handle such a surge in illness? Probably not — meaning public health officials would have to accurately identify who is most severely ill. (Neighmond, 2/2)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: UPS Airlifting Masks, Protective Equipment To China
UPS is airlifting supplies of respirator masks and protective gear to China for healthcare workers amid the coronavirus outbreak. The Sandy Springs-based shipping giant is transporting more than 2 million respirator masks, 11,000 protective coveralls and 280,000 pairs of nitrile gloves to Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (Yamanouchi, 1/31)