Free Republic

No one has tested positive for the new coronavirus in Pennsylvania, but the state’s health secretary said Wednesday preparations are underway to deal with the “very serious health issue.” “Since the start of this outbreak, we’ve taken a proactive approach to prepare and carefully monitor the health and safety of Pennsylvanians that were returning from China,” Department of Health Secretary Rachel Levine said at a Capitol press conference. “It is critical now that we be prepared for the possibility of community spread of COVID-19.” There are more than 80,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, according to the World Health Organization....

DES MOINES -- Following a top-secret briefing Tuesday morning, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, expressed confidence the United States is “on top of” efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. That doesn’t mean the virus, which already has claimed about 2,700 lives, is contained, Grassley said during his weekly conference call with Iowa reporters. “I don’t think that I could give Americans any certainty that it couldn’t crop up in the United States like it did in Italy over last weekend or 10 days ago in South Korea, where all of a sudden, you get an explosion of it,” Grassley...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Monday raised its travel advisory for South Korea to its highest level after the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country surged past 800. The Level 3 warning means Americans should avoid all nonessential travel to South Korea, which has the highest concentration of coronavirus infections outside China. South Korean officials say 893 people have tested positive for the novel virus. The CDC’s Level 3 travel warning means Americans should avoid all nonessential travel to South Korea, which has the highest concentration of coronavirus infections outside China. South Korea now has...

JERUSALEM - Concerns of a widening threat from coronavirus spiked just as millions of Israelis are preparing to gather at polling places for national elections next week, following reports that a group of South Koreans who had visited some of the country’s most popular religious and tourist spots tested positive for the infection. Dozens of school students who may have been in proximity to the South Korean tourists were directed to stay in home-based quarantine for two weeks, as were hotel housekeepers and employees of Masada, Tel Ber Sheeva and other national parks. Officials, who had previously expressed cautious optimism...

Despite China’s incredible economic success as of late, it’s important to remember that it is still fundamentally a communist country. Recent events have been a stern reminder. Freedom can be messy, but it’s nothing like the mess an authoritarian regime creates when it fears losing power. The disturbing outbreak of the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China and the communist government’s response to it should be a reminder of the consequence of a system based on state control, without rule by the people and a vibrant civil society. Many are impressed by the fact that China built a 1,000-bed hospital in 10...

Long before the coronavirus made international headlines, China’s Communist Party, which rules the country with unchallenged authority, had an image problem. Image has always been a key element of Beijing’s plan to rise to global greatness. It has worked assiduously to carve a reputation as an unstoppable power wading well into the midst of world affairs. Today, however, that carefully crafted image is badly tattered. It’s worse than it was just one year ago when nations that eagerly participated in China’s Belt and Road Initiative began to realize that Chinese “aid” was a two-edged sword. No one has done more...