Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Unpacking The Circumstantial Evidence That Novel Coronavirus May Have Escaped From A Lab In China
NBC News: Did The Coronavirus Really Escape From A Chinese Lab? Here's What We Know
There has been a barrage of contradictory claims in recent days about how U.S. officials believe the coronavirus emerged from the Chinese city of Wuhan, what evidence they have and when President Donald Trump was first briefed about it. Here is what we actually know. (Dilanian, Kube and Lee, 5/4)
The Hill: Fauci Dismisses 'Circular Argument' Coronavirus Originated In Chinese Lab
Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert and a member of the White House coronavirus task force, shot down theories the virus that has caused a global pandemic was man-made or released accidentally from a Chinese lab. In a wide-ranging interview with National Geographic, Fauci said available research indicated the virus evolved naturally. (Bowden, 5/4)
Reuters: WHO Says Pompeo Remarks On Virus Origin 'Speculative', Seeks Data
The World Health Organization said on Monday that comments by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo citing “evidence” that the new coronavirus had emerged from a Chinese laboratory were “speculative”, and called for a science-based inquiry. (Nebehay and Farge, 5/4)
The Associated Press: Trump's Anti-China Rhetoric Aimed At Boosting US Leverage
The Trump administration is making ever louder pronouncements casting blame on China for the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to sidestep domestic criticism of the president’s own response, tarnish China’s global reputation and give the U.S. leverage on trade and other aspects of U.S.-China competition. President Donald Trump has vowed to penalize China for what U.S. officials have increasingly described as a pattern of deceit that denied the world precious time to prepare for the pandemic. (Riechmann and Miller, 5/5)
The Hill: Trump Steps Up Effort To Blame China For Coronavirus
The Trump administration is escalating an effort to blame China for the novel coronavirus pandemic as global pressure grows on Beijing to cooperate with an investigation into the origins of the outbreak. President Trump, who has endured consistent scrutiny for his own lagged response to the virus domestically, has accused China of covering up the outbreak and suggested that the virus wouldn’t have spread globally if Beijing had been more transparent to begin with. (Chalfant and Elis, 5/4)
Reuters: Exclusive: Internal Chinese Report Warns Beijing Faces Tiananmen-Like Global Backlash Over Virus
An internal Chinese report warns that Beijing faces a rising wave of hostility in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that could tip relations with the United States into confrontation, people familiar with the paper told Reuters. The report, presented early last month by the Ministry of State Security to top Beijing leaders including President Xi Jinping, concluded that global anti-China sentiment is at its highest since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, the sources said. (5/4)
