New York has seen the most number of cases as well as death. The situation remains tense everywhere. After California, Washington DC has also ordered the people to stay at home. (Photo Credit: Pixabay)
New Delhi:
People dying, missing ventilators and truck parked outside the hospital to hold dead bodies - This is the terrifying status of the most powerful nation in the world. The land of dreams is turning into a big healthcare nightmare for many. The United States is now staring at a bleak future if the current projections of the coronavirus cases continue. Unless some drastic measures are put in place, the US could become next Italy, health experts have warned. According to the Johns Hopkins corona tracker, the US has so far reported staggering 68,572 confirmed cases. The death count has breached the 1,000-mark. As of now, 1,031 people lost their lives to the COVID-19 disease. New York has seen the most number of cases as well as death. The situation remains tense everywhere. After California, Washington DC has also ordered the people to stay at home. People have been demanding a complete lockdown in the US. However, President Donald Trump seems to be unmoved. Instead, Trump has set an Easter deadline to lift the US economy.
A CNN report quoted US Surgeon General Dr Jerome Adams saying that US could 'become Italy' where doctors have been forced to ration care and choose who gets a ventilator. New York has around 6 per cent of total confirmed cases in the world. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been voicing his concerns against the lack of action by the Trump administration. "New York needs 30,000 ventilators. It will be the difference between life and death. The federal government must provide these ventilators. Only the federal government has the power to deliver," he recently said. "Every state will have a different apex with this virus. New York is first. I told the White House, send us the equipment we need. Then we will deploy it to the states that come after us. I personally guarantee it," he added.
The latest data says New York City reported 4,414 new cases of coronavirus and 88 new deaths on Thursday. In total, New York has registered 20,011 cases and 280 deaths. The pace of viral infection can be understood from the following numbers. On March 4, there were just four cases of coronavirus infection. On March 10, the number rose to 32. By March 15, the tally climbed to triple digits with 269 cases. And on March 20, coronavirus infection delivered a gut punch with 5,683 cases. New York Governor may say that the social distancing is helping in flattening the curve, but the continuous surge says otherwise. In Washington, President Trump has blamed media for the coronavirus shutdown that has been advocated by health experts. An NBC journalist pointed out that 'more Americans died in New York City of the coronavirus than died in Afghanistan over the past 5 years.' A New York Times editorial had also asked Trump to impose lockdown. Citing India's example, the NYT said that the only way to halt the disturbing rise of COVID-19 cases was to go for full lockdown.
