Deaths below 1 lakh, hopes Trump
Prez toll predictions have changed over time, claims government’s actions saved lives
Washington, May 2: President Donald Trump says he’s hoping that the total number of Covid-19 deaths in the United States will be below 100,000. Even that, he acknowledged on Friday, is a “horrible number”.
Trump’s predictions of the expected US death toll have changed over time, and he repeatedly has used high estimates to make the case that his administration’s actions, especially his decision to restrict travel from China, have saved lives. His actions have been challenged by state, local and public health officials who have complained about shortages of testing supplies and safety gear for doctors and nurses.
On March 29, Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House Covid-19 task force, revealed models projecting the deaths of
100,000 to 240,000 Americans, assuming social distancing efforts were ongoing.
At the same time, she said epidemiology models initially had predicted a worst-case scenario of 1.5 million to 2.2 million US deaths without mitigation efforts such as social distancing, hand washing and staying home as much as possible. Soon after, Trump began speculating that the 100,000 figure was an outer limit.
Later, he leaned more toward a projection of
60,000, but that now has been eclipsed by the current death toll of more than
64,000. On Monday, he was thinking 60,000 or 70,000. At a White House event on Friday, Trump said “maybe millions of lives” have been saved by shutting down the economy.
Some meat plants reopen Sioux Falls (US), May 2: Signs on Friday that several big meatpacking plants will soon reopen might appear to support President Donald Trump’s assertion that he had “solved their problems” in keeping grocery stores’ coolers stocked during the Covid-19 crisis. But the reality isn’t likely to be so easy.
Though meatpackers have been moving to shift operations to make employees less vulnerable to Covid-19 infection, they still have a workforce depleted by illness, with at least
4,900 employees nationwide infected. Many others may be unwilling to risk entering plants that have been rife with infections.
Even plants that keep the production lines moving will have to do so more slowly, renewing concerns about whether Americans can count on seeing as much meat as they're used to.