US virus deaths near 100,000; NY’S daily toll falls below 100
NYT marks grim US virus milestone with front page victim list; at the pandemic’s peak in New York in early April, state officials were reporting up to 800 deaths per day
As the United States approached 100,000 coronavirus deaths, The New York Times on Sunday marked the grim milestone with a stark memorial on its front page − one-line obituaries for 1,000 victims.
“The 1,000 people here reflect just one per cent of the toll. None were mere numbers,” the newspaper said in a short introduction on the front page, which was entirely covered in text.
The United States has been the hardest-hit country in the coronavirus pandemic by far, in deaths and number of infections.
As of Saturday evening, the US had recorded 97,048 deaths and 1.6 million cases of the virus, and will likely reach 100,000 fatalities in a matter of days.
Victims featured by the Times included “Joe Diffie, 62, Nashville, Grammy-winning country music star,” and “Lila A. Fenwick, 87, New York City, first black woman to graduate from Harvard Law School.” Also: “Myles Coker, 69, New York City, freed from life in prison,” “Ruth Skapinok, 85, Roseville, Calif., backyard birds were known to eat from her hand,” and “Jordan Driver Haynes, 27, Cedar Rapids,
Iowa, generous young man with a delightful grin.” Marc Lacey, the paper’s national editor, said, “I wanted something that people would look back on in 100 years to understand the toll of what we’re living through.”
The milestone of 100,000 deaths loomed as US states across the country ease lockdown measures.
President Donald Trump, with an eye on his reelection prospects in November, has pressed for a further reopening of the country as job losses mount and the economy slows from coronavirus shutdowns.
“Transition to greatness,” Trump tweeted on Saturday evening, his slogan for the reopening of America.
But many online commentators noted the dissonance between the staggering death toll and Trump’s tweet.
George Conway, a frequent critic of Trump and husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, tweeted a the newspaper front page − alongside a photo of Trump playing golf on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the number of deaths in New York state caused by the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours was 84, the lowest one-day total since late March, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday.
“The news is good news,” Cuomo said in his daily televised briefing.
Hospitalizations, intubations and new infections were all in decline, he added.
“In my head, I was always looking to get under 100,” Cuomo said, speaking from the governor’s mansion in Albany.
“It doesn’t do good for any of those 84 families that are feeling the pain,” he added.
“But for me it’s just a sign we are making real progress.”
The toll is the lowest since March 24. At the pandemic’s peak in New York in early April, state officials were reporting up to 800 deaths per day, and daily tolls repeatedly surpassed 1,000 when probable cases were included.
Parts of the state that saw fewer virus cases have already begun to ease lockdown restrictions, but they have yet to be lifted in New York City, the former virus epicenter in the US.
The city’s beaches will remain closed for this long Memorial Day weekend, which traditionally marks the beginning of the US summer season.
Beaches are being reopened elsewhere in the state and in other coastal areas, often with bathers required to observe social distancing.
Cuomo issued an unexpected order late Friday to allow public assemblies of up to 10 people “for any lawful purpose.”
He was easing an earlier order that applied only to religious services and Memorial Day celebrations, after a civil liberties group filed suit to object.
Separately, nearly two weeks ago the White House urged governors to ensure that every nursing home resident and staff member be tested for the coronavirus within 14 days.
It’s not going to happen.
A review by media found that at least half of the states are not going to meet White House’s deadline and some aren’t even bothering to try.
Only a handful of states, including West Virginia and Rhode Island, have said they’ve already tested every nursing home resident.