2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Outbreak: CRS Experts

Updated February 4, 2020 (R46209)

On December 31, 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) was informed of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China. Illnesses have since been linked to a new strain of coronavirus, designated 2019 Novel Coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV.¹ As of February 4, 2020, WHO reports that more than 20,000 people have been infected, and more than 420 have died. Most cases and deaths have been in China. The disease has spread to several other countries, including the United States. As the scope of the epidemic widened in China, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated on January 30, 2020, that its "assessment remains that the immediate risk to the American public is low."² The situation is rapidly changing, however, and both WHO and CDC post frequent updates.³ For more information about the U.S. response to this new threat, see CRS Insight IN11212, Another Coronavirus Emerges: U.S. Domestic Response to 2019-nCoV, and CRS In Focus IF11421, Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV): Developments in China and International Response.

The following table lists names and contact information for CRS experts on policy concerns involving the outbreak of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Policy areas identified include

public health, virology, and epidemiology;
international response activities;
domestic response activities; and
legal issues.

Legislative Issues	Name/Title	Phone	Email
Public health, virology, epidemiology
	Sarah A. Lister Specialist in Public Health and Epidemiology	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Kavya Sekar Analyst in Health Policy	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
International response activities
General, outbreak response	Sara M. Tharakan Analyst in Global Health and International Development	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
General, World Health Organization (WHO), international authorities	Tiaji Salaam-Blyther Specialist in Global Health	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
State Department	Cory R. Gill Analyst in Foreign Affairs	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
China: general	Susan V. Lawrence Specialist in Asian Affairs	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
China: economics and trade	Karen M. Sutter Specialist in Asian Trade and Finance	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Domestic response activities
Public health, Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), funding	Sarah A. Lister Specialist in Public Health and Epidemiology	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Kavya Sekar Analyst in Health Policy	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Medical countermeasures (tests, vaccines, treatments)	Agata Dabrowska Analyst in Health Policy	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Frank Gottron Specialist in Science and Technology Policy	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Kavya Sekar Analyst in Health Policy	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Edward C. Liu Legislative Attorney	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Biodefense	Frank Gottron Specialist in Science and Technology Policy	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Border Screening, Customs and Border Protection (CBP)	Audrey Singer Specialist in Immigration Policy	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Transportation Sector/Aviation	Bart Elias Specialist in Aviation Policy	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
	Rachel Y. Tang Analyst in Transportation and Industry	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Legal issues
Isolation and quarantine, medical countermeasures	Edward C. Liu Legislative Attorney	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]

Author Contact Information

Sarah A. Lister, Specialist in Public Health and Epidemiology ([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])

Footnotes

1.	World Health Organization (WHO), "Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)," https://www.who.int/westernpacific/emergencies/novel-coronavirus.
2.	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), telebriefing transcript, January 30, 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2020/t0130-novel-coronavirus-update-telebriefing.html.
3.	WHO, "Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) situation reports," https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports; and CDC, "2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Situation Summary," https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/summary.html.