40% of new cases in the world: US could be the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic

The World Health Organization says the US could soon become the epicenter of the global coronavirus pandemic, although President Donald Trump announced that he hopes to return to normal in the United States in the coming weeks, writes "Voice of America".

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“They (the United States) have a very large outbreak, and the outbreak is getting more intense,” WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said March 24 in Geneva.

Harris reported that over the course of a day, 85% of new cases of coronavirus were reported in Europe and the United States, and the United States accounted for 40% of this amount.

In response to a question about whether the US could become the new epicenter, Harris said: “We are now seeing a rapid increase in cases in the US. So there is such a possibility.”

But she also said that increasing testing in the United States could reduce the rise in new cases.

As of mid-day on March 25, more than 55 cases of coronavirus were reported in the United States, and more than 240 deaths were recorded.

The pandemic slowed down the US economy, which was only growing a month ago at an accelerated rate.

New York is the epicenter of coronavirus in the United States

The streets of the American capital are unusually sparsely populated, especially considering the fact that now is the cherry blossom season, the most popular time for tourists to visit Washington, the correspondent says "Voices of America". The locals are advised not to go outside without special need, although Washington has not yet been given an official order to stay at home, as happened in San Francisco or New York.

Now there are less than 150 cases of infection recorded in the capital, but New York has become the new epicenter of the spread of the disease in the United States. Case numbers are rising hourly across the state, with more than 21 reported cases now. In New York City there are more than 000. Doctors say that 13% of all coronavirus tests in the state give a positive result. This is many times more than anywhere else in the country.

Experts estimate that with such a proliferation rate, up to 110 hospital beds may be required in New York; now there are only half. The National Guard has already landed in New York, which in particular has begun to set up temporary hospitals at the Javits exhibition center in Manhattan. They plan to open 000 field hospitals soon, which can accommodate 4 hospital beds and potentially up to 1000 people who need help.

“This will be a backup facility for those hospitals that run out of beds first,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo says. “By using these beds, we can relieve some of the stress in hospitals.”

Congress may today adopt a $ 2 trillion stimulus package. This money should help American companies and employees cope with the financial consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. It seems that the Democrats and Republicans were able to agree on the details of the plan.

On the subject: Trump asked Americans to go to work to save the economy

Legislators and Donald Trump also called for speedy approval of the funds. Apparently worried about the state of the economy, the president even suggested on the eve that the United States would be able to remove certain restrictions imposed through the coronavirus faster than expected.

“America will be open for business again and quickly, much faster than 3 or 4 months. "We can't let the treatment be worse than the problem," Trump said. “At the end of the 15-day period, we will decide which way we want to go, especially regarding the timing of the opening of our country, because we have closed it enough to get rid of this invisible enemy.”

Trump added that he “would like to see the country open again by Easter (April 12) and ready to move forward.”

However, neither the American doctors nor the specialists of the World Health Organization share the optimism of the president. Experts do not undertake to predict when the level of infection in the United States will peak.

Disease Society of America Chairman Thomas File said lifting restrictions on direct human contact and other quarantine measures while the coronavirus is spreading "would accelerate the spread of the disease, overwhelm an under-equipped health care system, and lead to avoidable deaths."

“The president will need to set a date for lifting quarantine measures when medical conditions allow,” File said.

On the subject: Pizza with pineapple and Corona beer: what products do not buy in the USA even in a crisis

What is happening in the world

Meanwhile in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ordered a mandatory travel ban for the country's entire population of 1,3 billion. Modi warned that if India “does not do everything right in these 21 days, the country will go back 21 years.”

Italy remains the most coronavirus-affected country in the world, with over 6800 deaths recorded.

But from China they report an improvement and claim that on March 24 there was not a single infection detected between the locals.

Officials in Hubei, from where the pandemic started last December, report that after two months of tough quarantine measures, healthy people will be allowed to move there.

Hubei province hopes that all quarantine restrictions can be lifted early next month.

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