The novel coronavirus has taken hold in the US and the outlook is grim.
Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci announced on Sunday that the U.S. could see “millions of cases” and “I would say between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths.”
Worst-case scenario
Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Fauci stressed that though the predictions look dire, “I don’t want to be held to that” because the coronavirus is “such a moving target.”
Fauci’s announcement comes as the US has seen a dramatic increase in COVID-19 deaths. It took the US over a month to reach a death toll of 1,000, but only two days to double that number.
Breitbart reports that “In the space of 48-hours the U.S. death toll from the Chinese coronavirus pandemic passed 2,000 late Saturday, figures confirm. Of those fatalities, 672 have been counted in New York City alone.”
Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus task force coordinator, made a similar sobering announcement on Saturday, warning that “we don’t think any city will be spared from this virus.”
The US also has more confirmed cases of the virus than any country in the world at nearly 125,000. Italy still leads the world in terms of the death toll, with over 10,000 deaths reported.
Hunkering down
Talk of re-opening the economy seems to have been placed on the back burner as new hotspots for coronavirus infections pop up all over the US.
Donald Trump hinted at possibly enacting a quarantine on those states that have been hit hardest by the coronavirus but quickly backed down from the suggestion on Saturday.
Trump tweeted that “a quarantine will not be necessary” but that the CDC has issued a travel advisory for New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Almost half of all the reported coronavirus cases in the US are found in New York, with a significant portion of those concentrated in New York City.
Donald Trump sent off the Navy hospital ship Comfort to New York City on Saturday as a “message of hope” for the reeling city. The ship is scheduled to arrive in Manhattan on Monday and begin treating patients on Tuesday.
The shop boasts 1,000 patient beds, eight intensive care beds, and nearly 1,200 medical personell. New York City currently has over 7,000 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19.
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