Bleak outlook for US and UK

Human and financial toll of the coronavirus outbreak mounts for the two world leaders

THE US and Britain braced for what could be one of their bleakest weeks in memory yesterday, as the human and financial toll of the coronavirus outbreak mounted.

But new deaths and infections appeared to be slowing in Italy, Spain and France, suggesting that lockdowns and social distancing are working.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was infected last month, was hospitalised in what his office described as a precaution because of persistent symptoms. The 55-year-old Johnson, who had a fever for days, is the first-known head of government to fall ill with the disease.

“I’m in good spirits and keeping in touch with my team, as we work together to fight this virus and keep everyone safe,” he tweeted yesterday.

World markets rose after much of Europe saw glimmers of hope, deaths and new infections appeared to be slowing in much of the three hardest-hit countries, as well as in the Netherlands and Germany.

Leaders cautioned, however, that any gains could easily be reversed if people did not continue to adhere to strict social distancing measures and national lock downs. More than 9 600 people have died of the virus in the US, and it leads the world in confirmed infections at more than 337 000.

In New York City, the US epicentre of the pandemic, daily confirmed deaths dropped slightly, along with intensive care admissions and the number of patients who needed breathing tubes. But New York governor Andrew Cuomo warned it was “too early to tell” whether the good news would hold.

Louisiana health officials reported 68 more coronavirus-related deaths, the state’s biggest jump since the outbreak began. In all, the state has about 480 reported deaths and over 13 000 infections. A report from a federal watchdog agency found that three out of four US hospitals surveyed are already treating patients with confirmed or suspected Covid-19.

Italy still has, by far, the world’s highest coronavirus death toll – almost 16 000 – but the pressure on northern Italy’s intensive care units has eased so much that Lombardy is no longer airlifting patients to other regions.

Yet elderly Italians like Enrico Giacomoni were still dying alone even after being put on a breathing machine. The octogenarian’s family had to rely on a single daily update from a busy doctor. “He wasn’t expecting this,” said his son, Roberto. “He was there hoping things would get better, and all I could do was tell him, ‘Papa, be strong. You’ll see, this will pass.’”

“But his eyes were sad, in the sense that he obviously knew.”

In Spain, deaths and new infections dropped again yesterday. The health ministry reported 637 new deaths, the lowest toll in 13 days, for a total of over 13 000 dead. New recorded infections were also the lowest in two weeks.

Emergency rooms in the hard-hit Madrid region of 6.6 million were returning almost to normal a week after scenes of patients sleeping on floors and in chairs.

Patients awaiting treatment in Madrid-area ERs went down yesterday to 390 cases, one-tenth of the arrivals last week, the regional government said. Transport, Mobility and Urban Affairs Minister José Luis Ábalos said the figures show Spain is entering “a new phase of the battle”.

“This new phase does not mean we can let down our guard. We are assessing the measures that we will need to adopt.”

Yet Britain’s outbreak was headed in the opposite direction as the country reported more than 600 deaths on Sunday, surpassing Italy’s daily increase for the second day in a row.

Lacking enough protective gear against the virus, British doctors and nurses were wearing goggles from school science classes, holding their breath when close to patients, and repeatedly reusing single-use masks, said Dr Rinesh Parmar, head of Doctors’ Association UK.

Worldwide, more than 1.2 million people have been confirmed infected and over 70 000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.