US reports 2,000+ COVID deaths in one day
Reeling under the coronavirus outbreak, the United States touched another grim benchmark on Thursday as over 2,000 people died in 24 hours, for the first time in three months. The last time US' single-day death toll topped 2,000 was on May 7, when the pandemic was still relatively new. With yesterday's tally, the total death count in the US has reached 162,804 and cases 5,032,179.
US' battle with coronavirus has been extremely prolonged
For more than four months now, the US has been struggling to get back on its feet but has failed miserably. A report in NYT claimed that in the last month 1.9 million Americans have tested positive for the highly-contagious disease. That is five times more than the combined numbers of Europe, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and Australia.
Experts think Trump is to be blamed for the mess
Shockingly, the powerful nation didn't take on the pandemic like a rich country, instead its fight resembled poorer countries like Peru and Brazil. Experts believed a scattered healthcare system and President Donald Trump's habit of ignoring professional advice proved fatal. Trump's claims that the virus would magically disappear, inhibitions about masks, and eagerness to re-open the economy pushed the country to the brink.
Successful countries had a vision, US none, feels epidemiologist
Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said countries that succeeded in defeating the virus had a clear vision. "I'm not sure we ever really had a plan or a strategy — or at least it wasn't public," Rivers said.
The days ahead don't seem any better either
While the US' colossal failure to control the outbreak serves a lesson for other nations, the worse is yet to come. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation that studied the current trends said the death toll could reach 300,000 by December 1. However, IHME added that if 95% of the US population wore masks the death toll could be restricted to 228,271.
By wearing masks, Americans can save over 66,000 lives
"You get this really huge effect that accumulates over time because every individual that is wearing the mask is putting the brakes on transmission by 40%. That starts to add up," IHME Director Dr. Christopher Murray told CNN.
Meanwhile, Fauci again urged Americans to wear masks, wash hands
In fact, the country's top expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci also suggested something similar. He predicted that the numbers could be down by November, when Presidential elections are due, if Americans take concrete steps immediately. "If we pay attention to the fundamental tenets of infection control and diminution of transmission, we can be way down in November," he said.
Worldwide tally crossed 19 million; over 700,000 have died
Globally, coronavirus infections topped 19 million by Friday. The death toll stands at 717,687. Brazil, the second worst-hit nation, has 2,917,562 cases and 98,644 deaths. India's total cases also crossed the 2 million mark, with 41,638 deaths. As India touched a concerning benchmark, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, suggesting that he has left the country to fend for itself.
