In Part 3 of his series on the coronavirus, LBJ Professor Joshua Busby looks at how the virus was declared a public health emergency:
"If you've been following the coronavirus outbreak, you've probably heard about the Princess Cruises ship, quarantined in Japan with thousands of passengers on board. It sounds like the veritable cruise ship from hell. Of the 1,219 passengers screened for the virus, some 355 passengers tested positive for COVID-19, including some 44 Americans. The Americans were finally being evacuated today after having been quarantined on the ship since Feb. 5.
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"But, were these extreme measures justified? This is the third in the series on the coronavirus COVID-19. In my first post, I provided some background on the nature of the virus, from what we know. In the second, I reflected on the belated declaration of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization in late January 2020."
The full series:
- Part 1: The coronavirus: Global health is high politics
- Part 2: Pull the alarm? The coronavirus as a global emergency
- Part 3: Shut it down? The International Response to the Coronavirus
- Part 4: China and the coronavirus: Getting it right or very wrong?
- Part 5: Now what? Health security after the 2020 coronavirus