The Hill: Trump says U.S. has coronavirus ‘totally under control’
“President Trump said Wednesday that he had been briefed on the outbreak of a new virus from China and that the United States had the situation ‘totally under control.’ Trump was asked about the new coronavirus in an interview with CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’ on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, one day after the Centers for Disease Control confirmed the first U.S. case of the virus in Washington state…” (Chalfant, 1/22).

Reuters: Trump says U.S. in ‘great shape’ with plan for coronavirus
“…Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said: ‘We do have a plan and we think it is going to be handled very well. We’ve already handled it very well. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) is terrific. Very professional…’ ‘We’re in great shape and I think China is in very good shape also,’ Trump told reporters before a one-to-one meeting with Nechirvan Barzani, president of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq…” (Alper, 1/22).

Seattle Times: Snohomish County man has the United States’ first known case of Wuhan coronavirus
“A Snohomish County resident is infected with the Wuhan coronavirus, the first confirmed case in the United States of a mysterious respiratory infection … The patient is a man in his 30s who lives alone. He had been traveling solo since November in Wuhan, China, a city of 11 million where the outbreak appears to have originated, health officials said…” (1/21).

STAT: CDC details first U.S. case of novel virus spreading in China
“…The U.S. is the fifth country outside of China to report cases of the virus, provisionally known as 2019-nCoV. Thailand, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan have picked up a handful of cases, all in people who had recently been in Wuhan. Also on Tuesday, the World Health Organization on Tuesday raised the possibility that the new virus may be transmitting in an ongoing, sustained manner between people — which, if confirmed, would make it significantly more difficult to stop…” (Branswell, 1/21).

U.N. News: UN health agency to gauge global threat, as China confirms coronavirus transmission between humans
“…In a message released on social media, WHO said that the agency’s Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, will ‘convene an Emergency Committee on the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) under the International Health Regulations,’ with the aim of ascertaining ‘whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, and what recommendations should be made to manage it’…” (1/21).

Wall Street Journal: As Virus Spreads, Isolated Taiwan Risks Being a Loophole in War on Epidemics
“Taiwan’s first reported case of a patient infected by a deadly coronavirus spreading across Asia turns a spotlight on Beijing’s attempts to exclude the self-governing island from the World Health Organization, which Taiwanese officials say hinders an effective global response to public-health crises. China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, has in recent years squeezed the island’s ability to participate in international affairs, including by blocking its representatives from United Nations agencies overseeing global health and aviation…” (Cheng et al., 1/22).

Washington Post: As families tell of pneumonia-like deaths in Wuhan, some wonder if China virus count is too low
“…Chinese leader Xi Jinping has also become involved in the response effort, on Monday issuing a directive to ‘put people’s safety and health as the top priority and take effective measures to curb the spread of the virus.’ This order was emblazoned across state media. … Xi’s association with the response marked a sharp contrast to the official response to the swine flu outbreak that erupted last year and caused pork prices to spike ahead of politically sensitive holidays. At that time, that crisis was handled by the prime minister and other economic officials. … Still, there is plenty of evidence that the Communist Party is trying to control the narrative…” (Fifield et al., 1/22).

Additional coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and response is available from BBC, CNBC, Financial Times (2), Foreign Policy, The Guardian, New York Times (2) (3), NPR, Reuters (2) (3) (4), Science, Science Speaks, The Telegraph, U.S. News, and Washington Post (2).