As the United States exceeds 11,000 deaths from coronaviruses, officials express optimism about social distancing

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Trump extends coronavirus measures until April 30 3:53

(CNN) - As the number of deaths from coronavirus in the United States exceeds 11,000, health officials say parts of the country that strongly leaned toward social distancing may be experiencing a slowdown in the growth of coronavirus cases. .

Most people in the United States are "doing the right thing" by staying home and taking other mitigation measures to help combat the coronavirus pandemic, United States Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams told Tuesday " Good Morning America ”from ABC.

"I'm seeing mitigation work," said Adams. "I know I've said it a few times with Washington and California. Their public health officials should be applauded because they have given us the plan on how to deal with this in the rest of the country. "

• Social estrangement saved tens of thousands of lives in 11 European countries, study finds
• The model cited by the White House says that 82,000 people could die of coronavirus by August, even with social distancing.

There are now at least 369,069 coronavirus cases, according to the Johns Hopkins University case count in the United States.

President Donald Trump warned Americans last week to prepare for two "painful" weeks as he extended distancing measures across the country and acknowledged the severity of the virus.

Both Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top health official, and Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus response workforce, said Monday that with continued mitigation efforts, there is the possibility of Reduce the estimated number of deaths in the United States from the estimated 100,000.

“I don't think anybody has mitigated the way that I've seen people mitigate at the moment. It had never happened in this country before. I am optimistic. Always cautiously optimistic, ”said Fauci.

Meanwhile, an influential University of Washington model now predicts fewer people will die and fewer hospital beds will be needed, compared to last week's estimates.

But this means that social distancing measures, such as the closure of schools and businesses, will continue until August.

The model predicts that the virus can kill more than 81,000 people in the United States in the next four months, and just under 141,000 hospital beds are needed. That's about 12,000 fewer deaths, and 121,000 fewer hospital beds, than the model estimated Thursday, says the University of Washington School of Medicine, Institute of Health Assessment and Metrics.

Recent developments

• Almost 20% of the New York Police Department's workforce was ill as of Monday. At least 12 members have died from a suspected coronavirus case, police say.

• Wisconsin holds its primary elections on Tuesday despite the pandemic. The United States Supreme Court allowed the vote, but a dissident judge, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, said the decision "stuns the mind."

• Adams, the surgeon general, told NBC's "Today" show Tuesday that Wisconsin voters should keep their two-meter distance from others and wear face protection when they go to the polls.

• White House business adviser Peter Navarro warned the White House in January of a "full-blown pandemic that threatens the lives of millions of Americans" from the coronavirus, The New York Times reported.

• Michigan's largest health care system, Beaumont Health, has about 1,500 of its more than 38,000 employees who stay home with symptoms consistent with covid-19, spokesman Mark Geary said Tuesday.

• Another large Michigan health system, Henry Ford Health System, says 734 staff members, or 2.1% of its workforce, have tested positive for covid-19 since it began tracking its status on March 12 .

New York Governor Says New Deaths Remained Stable for Two Days

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday that the number of deaths from coronavirus has been stable for two days, adding that "the total number of hospitalizations has decreased, ICU admissions have decreased and daily intubations have decreased. diminished.

"Those are good signs and would again suggest a possible flattening of the curve," he said.

"But if we become reckless," warned the governor, "we change, we do not comply with the social distancing, they will see that those numbers increase again."

• "It's like being in a war zone," is how doctors work in New York

In Colorado, Governor Jared Polis extended the state's confinement order until April 26 and said the state was beginning to "see progress" thanks to the measures.

“At the beginning of the crisis, the number of positive cases in Colorado doubled every day and a half. Today, the number of positive cases is doubling every six to seven days, ”he said. "That means the spread of the virus is starting to slow down."

Los Angeles saw a 7% increase in cases on Monday, marking the city's first single-digit daily increase since mid-March, Mayor Eric Garcetti said.

Although the mayor called the lower rate of increase "good news," he noted that the rate of increase is generally less on Mondays than other days of the week.

Health officials say the state's first aggressive measures gave California time to prepare for its peak in the cases, which according to Governor Gavin Newsom, will likely come in May.

"The governor brought together experts to really try to understand if we flatten our curve, if we do all this social distancing and stay at home, how should we think about what to prepare for?" California Deputy Governor Eleni Kounalakis said Monday.

An increasing number of cases are already expected, he said, but they will come at a pace that has so far allowed the state to prepare.

"We have been expanding the capacity of our hospitals rapidly and so far we can handle the increase," he said. "But of course for California and for every state in the country, it really is a race against time to have the equipment and supplies we need."

States that help each other with supplies

To help states like New York, California announced that it will send 500 fans to the US Strategic National Reserve, which Trump previously said were nearly exhausted.

"We still have a long way to go in the Golden State and are aggressively preparing for a surge, but we cannot turn our backs on Americans whose lives depend on having a fan now," Newsom said in a statement.

The 500 machines were slated to depart California on a military aircraft Monday to be shipped to FEMA, which will then be redistributed to other states as needed, Brian Ferguson of the California Office of Emergency Services told CNN.

Newsom is not alone: ​​Oregon Governor Kate Brown and Washington Governor Jay Inslee have also offered fans to support other states.

"These fans go to New York and other states most affected by this virus," Inslee said in a statement Sunday. The governor sent 400 fans to the national reserve.

The virus affects black communities

Meanwhile, as states use more tests to identify carriers of the virus, data has begun to show that black people account for a large number of victims in the country.

In Chicago, 72% of people who have died from coronavirus are black, although they represent 30% of the population, authorities said.

In Louisiana, where nearly 33% of the population is black, those residents account for 70% of the state's coronavirus deaths.

Dr. Celine Gounder, a CNN medical analyst and clinical assistant professor of infectious diseases, offered possible reasons for this on Tuesday, including:

• Black patients may have a disproportionate chance of having essential jobs that cannot be done at home, such as grocery store care.

• Black people are disproportionately likely to have underlying health conditions that would make someone more likely to have severe covid-19 disease.

Adams, the surgeon general, made similar arguments to "CBS This Morning" on Tuesday.

“When you see that you are black in the United States, number number, unfortunately people are more likely to have a low socioeconomic level, which makes social distance difficult. Number two, we know blacks are more likely to have diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, "Adams told CBS.

"Many black Americans and I are at higher risk for covid-10. That is why we need everyone to do their part to stop the spread. ”

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights under the law asked the federal government on Monday to release racial and ethnic data related to the pandemic. The group says it wants "to ensure that communities of color receive equitable health care and treatment during this crisis."

- CNN's Jacqueline Howard, Arman Azad, Ryan Young, Gisela Crespo, Jake Carpenter, Jenn Silva, Ali Zaslav, Chandelis Duster and Steve Almasy contributed to this report.