The Guardian: Gordon Brown urges China and U.S. to join global Covid-19 action
“Gordon Brown has challenged Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to recognize the ‘deadly urgency’ of joining a global push to help poor countries combat Covid-19 and warned the world’s two biggest economies that go-it-alone strategies will end in failure. The former prime minister — who orchestrated the international response to the global financial crisis of 2008-09 — said Washington and Beijing could not afford to sit out a multilateral effort designed to raise $8bn (£6.4bn) to strengthen the health systems of developing nations…” (Elliot, 4/28).

The Hill: House Republican calls for investigation into China and WHO’s handling of coronavirus
“Rep. Michael McCaul (Texas), the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is calling for the panel to hold hearings on the Chinese government and World Health Organization’s (WHO) handling of the coronavirus outbreak…” (Brufke, 4/28).

Reuters: China lab rejects COVID-19 conspiracy claims, but virus origins still a mystery
“Claims that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan have no basis in fact, the head of the lab told Reuters, adding that there were still no conclusive answers as to where the disease started…” (Stanway, 4/28).

VOA: Top U.S. Health Official Discussed Fighting COVID-19 With Taiwanese Counterpart
“The top health officials from the U.S. and Taiwan conducted a rare telephone conference on Monday to discuss working together to fight COVID-19 as well as expanding Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Organization. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, thanked Taiwan for its efforts to share resources and knowledge with the U.S. in fighting the coronavirus…” (Chung/Zhang, 4/28).

The Wire/STAT: China has near-total control of the world’s antibiotic supply. Is America at risk as a result?
“…Despite all the [U.S. pandemic] planning and stockpiling, frontline health workers at hospitals from New York to San Francisco have been left unprotected and overwhelmed because of a shortage of masks, gloves, hospital gowns, and ventilators. As harmful as these shortages are, there is widespread confidence that they can be solved, if not in weeks, then months. But there is one major challenge to U.S. readiness that no government simulation has reckoned with, where the gap cannot be closed this year, and probably not even next year: China’s near-total control of the world’s antibiotic supply…” (Harris/Palmer, 4/28).