NYC NOW HAS MORE CASES THAN CHINA, UK

PAST WEEK WAS A ‘VERY, VERY TOUGH’ ONE, SAYS MAYOR DE BLASIO

WASHINGTON: New York City, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in America, itself had way more confirmed cases on Monday than China and the UK as US President Donald Trump insists a decision on reopening the country will come “shortly”.

The city has reported more than 104,410 confirmed cases, which is way more than 88,621 in the UK and 82,160 in China. NYC’s death toll stood at a staggering 6,898. New York state had 190,288 confirmed cases, more than the world’s three worst affected countries after the US - 169,496 in Spain, 159,516 in Italy and 132,591 in France. The death toll in the state stood at 9,384.

The number of cases in all of the US was up to at least 566,654 and deaths to at least 22,877. About 1,500 people in the country were reported dead over the last 24 hours. Despite these rising numbers, public health officials have expressed cautious optimism based on emerging signs of an improvement, such as a drop in hospitalisation cases and “flattening” of the curve.

The Trump administration has been pushing for reopening the country, or parts of it, based on these signs. Trump had said he will announce a task force to determine the right time for it. But on Monday, he signalled that he will be deciding that in consultation with state governors.

“A decision by me, in conjunction with the governors and input from others, will be made shortly!” Trump tweeted.

The US president has been raring to reopen the country worried about the impact of the lockdown on his re-election prospects in November, according to news reports. Close to 17 million people have been left jobless by the epidemic, the stock market has been ravaged and economists have warned of a slowdown comparable to the Great Depression of 1929.