From the quick return to normality, nothing comes of it - US President Donald Trump now also understands this. He is attuning the United States to a bleak scenario in the coronavirus pandemic: 100,000 people could die in the United States alone.
Washington (dpa) - US President Donald Trump prepared the Americans for dramatic casualties in the coronavirus crisis. If we can limit the death toll to 100,000 through containment measures, "then we all did a good job together".
He added at a press conference at the White House, "That's a terrible number." Trump announced that he would extend existing social distance guidelines by one month until the end of April. On Monday, he did not rule out that there could be another extension beyond that date. He will trust his experts, Trump said on Fox News. "We have to make this thing, this virus, disappear. We have to defeat it. We are at war."
MORE THAN TWO MILLION DEAD WITHOUT CONDITIONS?
Trump justified the extension of the protective measures with a study published on March 16 by the Imperial College in London, which assumed 2.2 million deaths in the USA, if no measures were taken to contain the virus. According to Johns Hopkins University, the number of infections with the Sars-CoV-2 pathogen in the USA is already 153,000. More than 2,800 people died. The situation in the state of New York is particularly worrying. Hotspots are also threatening to develop in Chicago and New Orleans.
THE HOPE
White House Coronavirus working group physician Deborah Birx said predictions also included containment measures ranging from 80,000 to 160,000 deaths in the United States, potentially more than 200,000. "This model fully assumes that we will continue to do exactly what we do." She added, "We hope these models are not quite right. That we can do better than these predictions are." The director of the National Institute for Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, told ABC broadcaster that despite the expansion of measures, more people will die. "Exactly how many we will lose is uncertain and depends on the effectiveness of our efforts."
END OF THE "NIGHTMARE"
Trump expects the number of deaths in the US corona crisis to peak in two weeks. In view of this, it is particularly important that everyone follows the guidelines sustainably. The better they were implemented, "the faster this nightmare will end," Trump said.
The guidelines published two weeks ago stipulate, among other things, that people keep their distance from one another and that crowds of more than ten people should be avoided. In addition, restaurants, cafes and bars should only offer food and drinks for take-away or delivery. Trump was optimistic that the worst could be over by summer. "We can expect to be on the road to recovery by June 1st."
CHANGED TONE
A few days ago, Trump had said that he wanted to see the United States largely back in normal operation by Easter Sunday - in two weeks. Now he said, "Nothing would be worse than proclaiming victory before victory is won. That would be the greatest loss of everything." Trump also assured: "We will defeat this invisible curse, this invisible enemy."
DISPUTES ABOUT CONTROLLING MEASURES
At the weekend, there was a possibility that the Washington government could drastically restrict freedom of movement for people in the states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to curb the spread of the virus. After consulting with his coronavirus working group and the affected state governors, Trump announced that this would not be necessary. Trump had criticized the statements, which were not yet ripe for speech. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo spoke of a "declaration of war" on the states.
EPIZENTRUM NEW YORK
The US east coast state of New York with the metropolis of the same name has become the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the USA. Local authorities have repeatedly warned that the capacities of the hospitals there are nowhere near ready to infect large sections of the population. There may be shortages in ventilators. "We're trying to keep our heads afloat and not go under," said the doctor in the emergency room of a New York hospital, Arabia Mollette, CNN. The Navy "Comfort" hospital ship is supposed to provide relief. On Monday morning (local time) the huge ship headed towards the city - past the Statue of Liberty. Mayor Bill de Blasio painted a dramatic picture of the situation on Sunday. "Here in New York it literally feels like it was in wartime."
CNN report on the situation in New York