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| As the world retreats due to coronavirus, NATO is still holding meetings | As the world retreats due to coronavirus, NATO is still holding meetings |
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| BRUSSELS — Deep into the global coronavirus pandemic, NATO is taking an unconventional approach to its daily operations: packing senior leadership into conference rooms to push on with some of its business as usual. | BRUSSELS — Deep into the global coronavirus pandemic, NATO is taking an unconventional approach to its daily operations: packing senior leadership into conference rooms to push on with some of its business as usual. |
| The continued in-person meetings have unsettled some senior diplomats posted to the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Brussels. They prefer that the alliance leaders start following the example across much of the world: communicating by videoconference and further scaling back bureaucratic committee meetings. | The continued in-person meetings have unsettled some senior diplomats posted to the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Brussels. They prefer that the alliance leaders start following the example across much of the world: communicating by videoconference and further scaling back bureaucratic committee meetings. |
| After a routine Wednesday meeting of NATO ambassadors and senior leadership packed 150 people into a room, at least one ambassador was seeking coronavirus testing to be made available to delegations, according to two senior NATO diplomats familiar with the worries. The diplomats spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose health concerns within the alliance. | After a routine Wednesday meeting of NATO ambassadors and senior leadership packed 150 people into a room, at least one ambassador was seeking coronavirus testing to be made available to delegations, according to two senior NATO diplomats familiar with the worries. The diplomats spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose health concerns within the alliance. |
| Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access. | Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access. |
| The stiff-upper-lip style has been pushed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who Thursday said that the alliance needed to continue to project strength throughout the pandemic. | The stiff-upper-lip style has been pushed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who Thursday said that the alliance needed to continue to project strength throughout the pandemic. |
| He did, however, conduct the news conference via Skype, a first, to try to prevent the spread of coronavirus. | He did, however, conduct the news conference via Skype, a first, to try to prevent the spread of coronavirus. |
| NATO has struggled with how to balance health precautions with its need to carry on with its daily business of protecting its 29 member nations. There are currently significant NATO military operations in Eastern Europe, Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo, all of which require monitoring and maintenance. | NATO has struggled with how to balance health precautions with its need to carry on with its daily business of protecting its 29 member nations. There are currently significant NATO military operations in Eastern Europe, Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo, all of which require monitoring and maintenance. |
| NATO is also in the process of formulating a plan to take a greater role in broader Middle Eastern security, which President Trump requested after a U.S. airstrike in January killed a senior Iranian military commander and unsettled the region. | NATO is also in the process of formulating a plan to take a greater role in broader Middle Eastern security, which President Trump requested after a U.S. airstrike in January killed a senior Iranian military commander and unsettled the region. |
| Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access. | |
| Other international blocs, such as the 27-member European Union, have largely switched to videoconferencing to carry out meetings amid the crisis. | Other international blocs, such as the 27-member European Union, have largely switched to videoconferencing to carry out meetings amid the crisis. |
| Live Updates: The latest on the pandemic | Live Updates: The latest on the pandemic |
| NATO officials say that because they routinely share highly classified intelligence at their meetings, they would need an additional level of security compared to the E.U. approach. Military commanders in the field currently communicate with their headquarters and civilian leaders via secure videoconferencing, said spokeswoman Oana Lungescu. | NATO officials say that because they routinely share highly classified intelligence at their meetings, they would need an additional level of security compared to the E.U. approach. Military commanders in the field currently communicate with their headquarters and civilian leaders via secure videoconferencing, said spokeswoman Oana Lungescu. |
| So far, one NATO staff member working at the headquarters in Brussels has tested positive for coronavirus. The person had gone on vacation in northern Italy, felt unwell around the end of the week that began March 2, and tested positive, the alliance said in a statement March 9. | So far, one NATO staff member working at the headquarters in Brussels has tested positive for coronavirus. The person had gone on vacation in northern Italy, felt unwell around the end of the week that began March 2, and tested positive, the alliance said in a statement March 9. |
| Wednesday’s meeting of senior leadership, in which the pandemic response was a major topic, seems to have been a particular flash point for frustrations from some NATO diplomats who felt as though Stoltenberg was not taking their health concerns seriously. | Wednesday’s meeting of senior leadership, in which the pandemic response was a major topic, seems to have been a particular flash point for frustrations from some NATO diplomats who felt as though Stoltenberg was not taking their health concerns seriously. |
| The feeling of vulnerability is not universally shared within the alliance: two other senior NATO diplomats said they felt the current precautions were appropriate. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive assessments. Elsewhere, senior national leaders, including Trump, continue to hold relatively large meetings and in-person news conferences. | The feeling of vulnerability is not universally shared within the alliance: two other senior NATO diplomats said they felt the current precautions were appropriate. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive assessments. Elsewhere, senior national leaders, including Trump, continue to hold relatively large meetings and in-person news conferences. |
| Why outbreaks spread exponentially, and how to ‘flatten the curve’ | Why outbreaks spread exponentially, and how to ‘flatten the curve’ |
| Official NATO photos from the meeting show senior NATO staff sitting in the room with one chair — about three feet — in between them. The pictures also showed Stoltenberg and the senior NATO military commander, U.S. Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, having their temperatures checked with a forehead thermometer as they entered the headquarters, and Stoltenberg and Wolters grinning and bumping elbows. | Official NATO photos from the meeting show senior NATO staff sitting in the room with one chair — about three feet — in between them. The pictures also showed Stoltenberg and the senior NATO military commander, U.S. Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, having their temperatures checked with a forehead thermometer as they entered the headquarters, and Stoltenberg and Wolters grinning and bumping elbows. |
| Lungescu, the NATO spokeswoman, said that steps were being taken to ensure the health of personnel, including avoiding having Stoltenberg and NATO’s deputy secretary general inside the headquarters at the same time. Such measures were “common sense,” she said. Many NATO staff have been sent to work from home and are rotating through the headquarters to man skeleton crews, she said. | Lungescu, the NATO spokeswoman, said that steps were being taken to ensure the health of personnel, including avoiding having Stoltenberg and NATO’s deputy secretary general inside the headquarters at the same time. Such measures were “common sense,” she said. Many NATO staff have been sent to work from home and are rotating through the headquarters to man skeleton crews, she said. |
| And “the number of staff in the few meetings that are now taking place has been reduced drastically,” she said. | And “the number of staff in the few meetings that are now taking place has been reduced drastically,” she said. |
| Elsewhere in Europe, senior military leadership has already been touched by the virus. At least one person with coronavirus attended a March 6 military conference in Wiesbaden, Germany, and after the meeting, a top Polish military commander who was in attendance tested positive for the virus. The commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe, Lt. Gen. Christopher Cavoli, was also at the meeting and went into quarantine afterward, where he remains in good health, according to a spokesman. | Elsewhere in Europe, senior military leadership has already been touched by the virus. At least one person with coronavirus attended a March 6 military conference in Wiesbaden, Germany, and after the meeting, a top Polish military commander who was in attendance tested positive for the virus. The commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe, Lt. Gen. Christopher Cavoli, was also at the meeting and went into quarantine afterward, where he remains in good health, according to a spokesman. |
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