Coronavirus: Public health and anti-China politics

Published: Feb. 3, 2020, 11 p.m.

It seems that panic is spreading among governments in their reactions to the coronavirus. Vietnam banned all travel to and from China, while Australia, the United States, France, the UK, and other countries are blocking entry to all Chinese nationals and to anybody who in the past two weeks has been to Wuhan, apparently the virus’s place of origin. But compared to other, routine illnesses, is the severity of the coronavirus outbreak being blown out of proportion for political reasons? KJ Noh, a peace activist and scholar on the geopolitics of Asia, and a frequent contributor to Counterpunch and Dissident Voice, joins the show.