Tracking the Coronavirus Pandemic

Get daily updates on the epidemic and learn how it is affecting countries around the world.

On today’s episode: What the world can learn from Iceland’s strategy of widespread testing.

Which politicians and senior officials have the coronavirus?

Trump botched the coronavirus response. The United States cannot make the same mistake again.

China and Russia are sending medical aid to Italy and other coronavirus-stricken countries, but their motives aren’t so altruistic.

Southern countries push for a eurobond while the wealthy North says “nein.”

With 2,500 asylum-seekers packed in tightly and no coronavirus tests available, doctors and volunteers are doubtful that education will be enough to prevent the spread of the virus.

India’s prime minister is pushing for a regional response while facing a growing crisis at home.

Public health shouldn’t mean surrendering privacy to Silicon Valley.

Don’t mistake different messages for division within the party.

The Russian leader still wants to make himself president for life. But COVID-19 is fomenting new distrust in the state he built.

The Palestinian health care system has been held back by military occupation and is unprepared for the coronavirus onslaught. Israel must act swiftly.

The pandemic offers dictators—and democracies alike—an opportunity for abuse.

Why is Iran the flaming epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the Middle East? One of the primary suspects is Mahan Air.

For a daily laborer in Mumbai, staying home means “my children and my wife will die.”

For Indian Muslims forced from their homes by mob violence, not even displaced persons camps can protect them now.

Democrats pushing back on sanctions, the use of colonial-era quarantine laws, and blaming China for the coronavirus.

The pandemic is starting to topple one of the pillars of the globalization era.

Hun Sen needs somebody to blame for the impending disaster.

Lockdowns are leaving domestic violence victims worldwide trapped with abusers.

Under the right conditions, social frustration can herald the dawn of new political solidarity.

Extreme measures to fight the coronavirus have raised activists’ hopes for similarly drastic action on global warming. Here’s why they’re wrong.

They want waivers to speed medical supplies and humanitarian aid to Iran and other sanctioned nations hit hard by the pandemic.

The cancellation is another blow to a battered economy as virus numbers creep up.

A major player in the Ebola outbreak, the council has turned into the site of a U.S.-China showdown over the coronavirus.

Refugees are particularly vulnerable to a pandemic—which is why their needs must be taken into account.

Germans used to be happy they were far away from China, but as COVID-19 ravages Europe, they no longer feel safely removed.  

Millions of people stuck at home will turn to social media, where disinformation is rife. Radical Islamists and far-right groups are exploiting widespread confusion and fear to spread hate.

State Department struggles to bring thousands of stranded Americans home as air travel shuts down from the global coronavirus pandemic.

The pandemic will soon magnify the threats festering in the Middle East’s longest-running war.

Slashing aid, abandoning the peace process, or going it alone will imperil U.S. interests.

Health concerns deal another blow to the U.S. foreign service, which is already overstretched following a 2017 hiring freeze.

The first coronavirus cases in the Gaza Strip portend a calamity.

As the pandemic reaches the continent, countries from Morocco to Malawi are facing a health crisis and an economic shock.

The country’s newest leaders should have jumped into action immediately. Instead, they wasted precious weeks jockeying over cabinet positions.

When societies shift their economies to a war footing, it doesn’t just help them survive a crisis—it alters them forever.

Beijing is using the pandemic to drive wedges between members of the European Union, and to advance its propaganda war against the United States.

Especially in times like these, it's OK to feel for everyone whose milestone events have been canceled or postponed.

China may be getting something close to a V-shaped bounceback from the coronavirus. The question is whether it can last—and whether the rest of the world can achieve anything like it.

It’s more glaring than Pearl Harbor and 9/11—and it’s all the fault of Donald Trump’s leadership.

Thousands have crossed over the border from badly afflicted Iran, and authorities in the neighboring province of Herat say they’re not close to ready.

A bungled response in Western countries is no reason to take the heat off China. If China had a different government, the world could have been spared this terrible pandemic.

A Supreme Court decision threatens Netanyahu’s grip on power and augurs a constitutional crisis.

The Scandinavian country believes its distinctive high-trust culture will protect it from needing to shut down for the pandemic.

If you're locked inside, thank the British Empire for the laws that make it possible.

Despite market rebound, economists say only a major suspension of mortgage and debt contracts and reimbursement of pay may stave off a coronavirus depression.

Secretary-General Guterres says it’s time for “solidarity not exclusion.”

Clinical evidence suggests the BCG vaccine may provide vital protection against the coronavirus.

The government learned early on about the outbreak—but, from a combination of cynicism and ideology, decided not to do anything about it.

Beijing’s propaganda blitz seeks to obscure the origins of the coronavirus.

Washington’s reputation for expertise has been one of the greatest sources of its power. The coronavirus pandemic may end it for good.

Economists say the sudden slowdown in economic activity from the coronavirus has no precedent in U.S. history.

Countries such as South Korea that test thousands of people per day have slowed the outbreak. Other nations must adopt Seoul’s model before it’s too late.

The United States needs a generous policy—and a different leader—to counter Beijing.

U.N. and relief agencies warn the coronavirus pandemic could leave an even bigger path of destruction in the world’s most vulnerable and conflict-riven countries.

The coronavirus crisis is exposing the West’s weaknesses—and adversaries of the U.S. and EU are paying close attention so they can exploit vulnerabilities in a future conflict.

What we’re reading, watching, playing, and listening to as we muddle through social distancing.

The pandemic will change the world forever. We asked 12 leading global thinkers for their predictions.

America’s politicians are older than ever—and dangerously vulnerable to the coronavirus as a result.

I ended up quarantined in both Beijing and Washington during the coronavirus outbreak. The experiences weren’t as different as you might think.

Once again, markets are crashing and taxpayers are bailing out wealthy insiders. It's time we reform this perverse social contract.

Around 70 million people are suffering displacement in crowded camps, awaiting the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Authoritarian states have been downplaying numbers. That won’t last.

Coronavirus efforts are a new battlefront—and Beijing is the only one in the game.

A major outbreak and looming recession in the United States has transformed the 2020 campaign—and could have major consequences for the future of great power politics.

Beijing isn’t interested in a tit-for-tat media feud with the United States—it’s going for escalation dominance.

Officially, not a single PLA soldier has been infected.

China’s poor rural neighbor says it has no cases. That’s unlikely to be true.

As Western countries battle with their own domestic epidemic, a newly stabilized China seizes a chance to portray itself as the emerging superpower. Will it work?

The delivery giant is likely to come out of the coronavirus crisis even more powerful.

The regime’s ideological army is spinning conspiracy theories even as it helps spread the virus among Iran’s long-suffering people.

Xi Jinping is desperate to get the economy back to life.

Mysterious deaths and experimental drugs are all too familiar to survivors of the 1980s epidemic.

Democratic lawmakers express “urgent concern” to Pompeo about failure to assist with flights and information.

Russian officials once touted their success in holding off the virus. Now cases are rising as their statistics are being questioned.

Politicians won’t admit it yet, but it’s time to prepare—physically and psychologically—for a sudden stop to all life outside your home.

The last global economic crisis was a financial heart attack. This one might be a full-body seizure.

Some delegations are repatriating vulnerable staff from New York amid a surge in coronavirus infections.

The world needs to cooperate to beat the coronavirus pandemic. That includes you, President Trump.

It’s only day three, but it feels like day 30.

Diplomats, lawmakers say the State Department hasn’t been transparent in responding.

Johnson government admits its strategy of allowing the virus to spread and build up immunity was a failure but stops short of mandatory controls.

Parsing the latest economic fixes to the economic devastation being caused by the coronavirus.

By killing the Middle East’s sense of community, the region’s dictators have helped the pandemic on its death march.

Washington and Tehran could use the public health emergency to show goodwill, dial down tensions while saving face, and avoid a dangerous confrontation.

Preventing a total European meltdown will require the German chancellor to fully abandon her cherished vision for the continent.

The world’s largest democracy is particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases—but history shows it can be surprisingly resilient.

Israeli authorities want to spy on people with the coronavirus.

Fed fails to avert panic over coronavirus impact with no concrete U.S. fiscal stimulus in the offing and little government handle on the outbreak.

Headlines focus on restrictions, but the East Asian experience shows other methods are critical, too.

Taiwan has 10 million masks a day, widespread tracking, and just 1 death despite being close to the outbreak.

The U.S. agency announced it was suspending operations globally and recalling volunteers for their safety as the outbreak spread.

A poor country succeeded in fighting off Ebola. Wealthier countries should replicate Liberia’s strategy in combating the coronavirus.

Foreign diplomats claim briefers from the mayor’s office say no specific measures are planned to protect them.

Duterte announced unprecedented measures, but nobody knows what they mean.

In a shameful abdication of responsibility, fellow countries in the European Union have failed to give medical assistance and supplies to Italy during an outbreak. China is filling the void.

Australian universities are so dependent on money from Chinese students that they’re helping them circumvent travel bans and quarantines. The United States shows a better way.

The pandemic is the result of many bad choices.

One by one, the U.N., WTO, and other major international players are canceling regular gatherings.

Britain has been exceptionally slow to respond to the pandemic. Trump's decision to omit the U.K. and Ireland from his European travel ban won't help halt the spread of the virus.

Both leaders have been exposed to the coronavirus. But only one is doing the responsible thing.

Existing quarrels are being pushed forward as the virus spreads.

The collapsing medical system can’t handle a coronavirus outbreak on its own. It’s time for the international community to step in.