WHO: US could become new epicentre
GENEVA/NEW YORK: The United States could become the global epicentre of the Covid19 pandemic, the World Health Organisation said yesterday.
In Geneva, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said infections in the United States had greatly increased.
Over the previous 24 hours, 85% of new cases were in Europe and the US, and of those, 40% were in the US.
Asked whether the US could become the new epicentre, Harris said: “We are now seeing a very large acceleration in cases in the US. So it does have that potential.”
New York state suffered another quick, brutal rise in the number of Covid19 cases yesterday, as California warned it could be next to face a spike in cases.
New York City, denselypacked home to more than 8 million people, had 157 deaths and some 15,000 cases of Covid19, nearly onethird the US total and more than half the country’s new cases yesterday, despite imposing strict limits on travel, socialising and work.
President Donald Trump declared major disasters for New York and Washington state and said he would soon do the same for California as he vowed to marshal “every resource” to fight the outbreak.
“We are enduring a great national trial,” Trump said in a news conference, urging Americans to practise social distancing.
Democrats, including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, earlier criticised the Republican president for suggesting he would reopen the nation’s economy by Easter in order to spare businesses maximum pain.
Legal experts said a US president’s powers to order people back to work or reopen government buildings, transportation or businesses is limited.
“If you ask the American people to choose between public health and the economy, then it’s no contest. No American is going to say accelerate the economy at the cost of human life,” Cuomo said at a Manhattan convention centre that was being converted into a 1000bed temporary hospital.
The expected need for hospital beds in New York state at the outbreak’s peak has spiralled to 140,000, Cuomo said, compared with 110,000 previously projected. Only 53,000 beds are said to be available now.
The number of infections is now doubling every three days in New York and the worst of the outbreak, known as the apex, could arrive in 14 to 21 days, putting huge pressure on health services, Cuomo said.
Governors from across the United States desperately sought resources for what they feared could be similar waves of the disease across the nation.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has warned that his state needs at least 50,000 more hospital beds, closed parking lots at stateowned beaches and parks after seeing surfers flouting stayathome rules.
Attorneysgeneral from 15 states and the District of Columbia urged Trump to use the Defence Protection Act to enlist US industry to supply critically needed medical supplies.
Some state and local officials have decried a lack of coordinated federal action, saying that having localities act on their own has put them in competition for supplies.
President Trump acknowledged the difficulty.
“The World market for face masks and ventilators is Crazy. We are helping the states to get equipment, but it is not easy,” he tweeted.
Trump has tried to maintain a note of optimism even as health officials say the pandemic has yet to peak, telling a White House news conference yesterday that “America will again and soon be open for business. We are not going to let it turn into a longlasting financial problem.”
Trump said he would decide based on facts and data, but stuck with his Easter timeframe.
In response to that idea, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said: “There has been some talk over the last 24 hours by some about who this nation might be willing to sacrifice to Covid19, for the sake of our economic interests. Well, in case there’s any doubt in your minds, I’m not willing to sacrifice anyone.”