A year later, World Health Organization teams are on the ground in Wuhan to trace the pandemic’s roots
The initial reports of “mysterious lung disease” in China made headlines around the world, but in the absence of reliable information, no travel bans were imposed. Across the Western world, the crowds continued, including mass events at sports venues and concerts. With no understanding of the impending threat, countries were not equipped to perform a large number of tests. Supply chain managers had no idea that in a few weeks the whole world would enter a mad race for toilet paper and disinfectant wipes.
Today, a year later, World Health Organization teams are on the ground in Wuhan to trace the pandemic’s roots, and are preparing to publish their findings soon. One can only hope that the cooperation that the international community didn’t receive from China at the beginning of the process will materialize now — at least to enable planning for the next pandemic.
—Omri Nahmias
There are two ways to view President Biden’s choice of Robert Malley to serve as special envoy to Iran. Malley was a lead Obama administration negotiator of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that President Trump “tore up” in 2018 when he saw the Iranians were cheating on it.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said Malley’s appointment shows the Biden administration “is building a dedicated team, drawing from clear-eyed experts with a diversity of views.”
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