Coronavirus: US now has most cases in the world, overtaking China
As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases reaches more than 82,000, including nearly 1,200 deaths, the US now has more cases than any other country.
The latest global health data collected by Johns Hopkins University shows the US eclipsing hard-hit countries Italy and China as the nation struggles with a consistent response after delayed efforts to take the mounting Covid-19 crisis seriously.
On Thursday, Margaret Harris with the World Health Organization warned that the US was likely to become the world’s viral epicentre as the number of cases escalated in several states, including New York, which spiked to more than 33,000 cases.
She said: “We are now seeing a very large acceleration in cases in the US. So it does have that potential.”
Donald Trump had initially dismissed the threat as it developed into a pandemic, as states developed patchwork responses to combat the outbreak weeks after countries’ warning signs glimpsed the crisis ahead, with over-stressed health systems and crippling medical supply shortages.
In recent days, the president has gone against warnings from health officials to reopen the country and resume business as usual, saying that “it’s time” Americans got back to work despite a growing number of states seeking emergency declarations and military assistance.
At his White House briefing on Thursday, the president repeated his assertion that the US should “go back” to work: “We don’t want to sit around.”
He has suggested that “sections” of the country should begin reopening “pretty soon” – insisting on a timetable that would reopen the US by Easter – without evidence that the country would be prepared, potentially endangering millions of Americans and diminishing the gains made by “social distancing” guidelines to prevent spreading the virus.
But according to several polls, a majority of Americans would prefer more stringent quarantine efforts to combat the virus, with some calling for a national “lockdown” as China begins reducing its number of cases with draconian measures to keep its population under strict medical surveillance and travel restrictions.
The president has attributed the number of confirmed cases in the US to the tests that have been performed.
More than 418,000 coronavirus tests are believed to have been performed, although the figure is based on tests confirmed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention labs as well as tests performed by private labs, which make up the bulk of the tests in the US. That is still shy of the amount of tests performed by South Korea, despite the president’s claims that the US has tested more people than any other country.
White House health officials claim that 40 per cent of the country has “extraordinary low” numbers of cases, and 86 per cent of cases have are negative, according to coronavirus task force official Dr Deborah Birx.
But some states have seen disproportionately devastating impacts – New Orleans has the highest rate of coronavirus deaths per capita in the US, while New York accounts for nearly half of all confirmed cases in the US.
Governors in 10 states have requested major disaster declarations from the White House to receive additional federal aid hospital beds, respirators and ventilators and other medical supplies – while nearly 4 million Americans have filed for unemployment last week, the highest filing rate in more than 50 years.
The treasury secretary has called the unemployment numbers ”not relevant” as congress awaits a bipartisan relief package totalling nearly $2 trillion to support impacted businesses as well as direct cash payments to Americans.
The latest figures follow reports that the White House had essentially ignored a ”playbook” for pandemic response drafted under Barack Obama’s administration, which offered a set of strategies for detecting outbreaks, securing funding and relying on a war-time measure that mandates companies rush production of critically needed supplies.
Mr Trump has denied that he needs to invoke the Defence Production Act, instead insisting that companies are voluntarily manufacturing hospital equipment.
The president also has been criticised for disbanding a pandemic response team within his administration, and a coronavirus task force was appointed with political leaders - including his vice president Mike Pence – rather than medical experts.
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