The coronavirus outbreak in Italy has gotten so bad so quickly that some doctors are now forced to practice "catastrophe medicine" — determining which severely ill patients should, and should not, get care based on the resources available.
Between the lines: The U.S. is not at that point — but a week ago, neither was Italy. The rapid deterioration there underlines the importance of taking preventive measures seriously, and the need for political and health leaders to start thinking about hard ethical questions.
The U.S. targeted five Kataib Hezbollah (KH) weapon storage facilities in Iraq on Thursday, following Wednesday's lethal attack on U.S. service members, the Department of Defense said.
Driving the news: Two U.S. service members and one member of the anti-ISIS coalition were killed in a rocket attack in Iraq on Wednesday. Similar rocket attacks in the past have been attributed to KH.
The world was not prepared for a pandemic. When one struck, international coordination broke down rather than ramping up.
Why it matters: The lack of preparedness has left countries, including the U.S., scrambling to craft a response once the novel coronavirus had already reached their shores. The dearth of global coordination could both exacerbate the crisis and make it more difficult to recover from.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's press secretary tested positive for coronavirus days after taking part in meetings with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo reports and multipleAmericanoutlets have confirmed.
The latest: Bolsonaro is currently being monitored, according to Brazilian media. Fabio Wajngarten, the aide, was photographed with Trump on Saturday.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave a sober address Thursday on his country's response to the coronavirus, saying "many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time."
The big picture: Johnson said the world was now facing "the worst public health crisis in a generation." His science advisers said the country was now moving from the "contain" phase to the "delay" phase — trying to spread the outbreak over a longer period and protect those most at risk of dying.
The fate of countries around the world lies in a very few individual politicians' hands — more so than at any other time in half a century or more.
Why it matters: Two politicians in particular,Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin, wiped about $20 trillion off the value of the world's oil reserves this week when they failed to come to an agreement on cutting oil production. That's more than $2,500 per human being on the planet.
Two U.S. service members and one other member of the anti-ISIS coalition were killed in a rocket attack in Iraq Wednesday, a Defense Department spokesperson confirmed to the Washington Post.
Why it matters: The Pentagon has not yet said who is responsible, but past rocket attacks of this kind have been attributed to Iranian-backed Shiite militias like Kataib Hezbollah (KH). In December, a rocket attack by KH killed a U.S. contractor in Iraq, resulting in a string of retaliatory attacks that culminated in a U.S. drone strike against top Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani.
What they're saying: "The coronavirus is a global crisis, not limited to any continent, and it requires cooperation rather than unilateral action," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel said.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele declared a national 21-day quarantine on Wednesday, although the country has no confirmed coronavirus cases, following the World Health Organization classifying the outbreak as a pandemic.
Where it stands: The closest COVID-19 cases to the Central American country are located in Honduras, which has two confirmed cases as of Wednesday, per the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. There are eight cases in Mexico and 13 in Costa Rica.
