Hyderabad: The United States braced for one of their bleakest weeks in living memory on Monday as the social and financial toll of the coronavirus pandemic deepened. New infections in Italy, Spain and France showed signs of slowing, but in the US hundreds of patients are still dying each day.
In Washington, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams offered a stark warning about the surge of coronavirus deaths the nation is facing.
“This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment,’’ he told “Fox News Sunday.”
More than 9,600 people have died of the virus in the United States, and it leads the world in confirmed infections at more than 337,000.
In New York City, the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic, daily confirmed deaths dropped slightly, along with intensive care admissions and the number of patients who needed breathing tubes. But New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned it was “too early to tell” whether the good news would hold.
U.S. President Donald Trump later suggested the hard weeks ahead could foretell the turning of a corner.
“We’re starting to see light at the end of the tunnel,” Trump claimed at an White House briefing.
New York and New Jersey are reporting 35 per cent of their tests are positive. Louisiana follows close behind with a 26 per cent positive rate. Michigan, Connecticut, Indiana, Georgia and Illinois are at 15 per cent while Colorado, Washington DC, Rhode Island and Massachusetts are all at 13 per cent.
Also Read: 'Toughest' weeks ahead as US reports one-fourth of global virus cases: Trump
Louisiana health officials reported 68 more coronavirus-related deaths, the state’s biggest jump since the outbreak began. In all, the state where New Orleans hosts millions of tourists yearly has 477 reported deaths and over 13,000 infections.
Worldwide, more than 1.2 million people have been confirmed infected and nearly 70,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. The true numbers are certainly much higher, due to limited testing, different ways nations count the dead and deliberate under-reporting by some governments.
The virus is spread by microscopic droplets from coughs or sneezes. For most people, the virus causes mild to moderate symptoms such as fever and cough. But for some, especially older adults and the infirm, it can cause pneumonia and death. Over 263,000 people have recovered worldwide.
