The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
INTENSIVE CARE
New York’s governor warns against relaxing restrictions too soon.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved to a hospital intensive care unit as his coronavirus symptoms worsened, according to a statement from the government,
NEW YORK — The steep rise in coronavirus deaths appeared to be leveling off Monday in hard-hit New York, echoing a trend underway in Italy and Spain, while the crisis escalated alarmingly in Britain, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved to intensive care after his condition deteriorated.
Johnson, 55, was conscious and did not immediately need to be put on a ventilator, his office said. The prime minister is the world’s first known head of government to fall ill with the virus.
In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the first, faint signs that the outbreak there might be at or near its peak, while warning that this is no time to relax the restrictions aimed at keeping people from getting too close. He ordered bigger fines against violators.
“The numbers look like it may be turning. ‘Yay, it’s over!’ No, it’s not. And other places have made that mistake,” he said as deaths in the U.S. climbed past 10,000, with around 350,000 confirmed infections.
Outbreaks in other places moved in the opposite direction: France recorded its highest 24-hour death toll since the epidemic began, 833. And Japan considered a state of emergency for Tokyo and other areas because of soaring infections in the country with the world’s third-largest economy and its oldest population.
Worldwide, more than 1.3 million people have been confirmed infected and over 70,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. The true numbers are certainly much higher, because of limited testing, different ways nations count the dead and deliberate under-reporting by some governments.
The latest data suggests that social distancing appears to be working in some countries, and better than expected.
One of the main models on the outbreak, the University of Washington’s, is now projecting about 82,000 U.S. deaths through early August, or 12 percent fewer than previously forecast, with the highest number of daily deaths occurring April 16. The model relies on much more robust data from Italy and Spain and from hospitals.
The number of dead in New York state rose past 4,700, and the death toll in New York City closed in on the 2,753 lives lost at the World Trade Center on 9/11.
The state has been averaging just under 600 deaths per day for the past four days. As horrific as that is, the roughly steady totals were seen a positive sign. Cuomo also reported that the number of new people entering hospitals daily has dropped, as has the number of critically ill patients who need ventilators.