U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Friday, April 3, 2020, in Washington, as Vice President Mike Pence listens. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon).
Surgeon general warns US of `saddest week’ and `9/11 moment’
The U.S. surgeon general offered some of the starkest warnings yet Sunday as he braced Americans for the worsening fallout from the new coronavirus, warning “this is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans’ lives, quite frankly.” The public was advised separately by the nation’s infectious disease chief to “just buckle down” and that the virus probably won’t be wiped out entirely this year.
The number of people infected in the U.S. has exceeded 300,000, with the death toll climbing past 8,400; more than 3,500 of those deaths are in the state of New York.
“This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment, only it’s not going to be localized,” Surgeon General Jerome Adams said on “Fox News Sunday.” He added: “It’s going to be happening all over the country. And I want America to understand that.”
New York gets Chinese ventilators
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the Chinese government is facilitating a shipment of 1,000 donated ventilators to his state. Cuomo also said Oregon volunteered to send 140 more breathing machines. The move highlights the extreme measures leaders are taking as they try to independently secure enough of the lifesaving devices. Cuomo says the U.S. government’s stockpile of medical supplies will fall short, and his startling plan to force hospitals elsewhere in the state to surrender 20% of any unused supply to the National Guard for temporary redistribution is not yet in place. But President Donald Trump said Saturday that his administration is assessing which areas have the most need, and that every decision is meant to save lives.
Has the curve finally been flattened in Spain?
The rate of the coronavirus outbreak continues to slow in Spain, the country with the second most infections behind the United States.
Spain recorded 6,023 confirmed new infections on Sunday, down from an increase of 7,026 infections in the previous 24-hour period, confirming the downward tendency of the past week.
Confirmed new deaths also dropped to 674 fatalities, taking the national tally to 12,418. That is the first time new deaths have fallen below 800 new fatalities in the past week.
“We are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told the nation Saturday.
But to get there, Sánchez announced that he would ask the Parliament to extend the state of emergency by two more weeks, taking the lockdown on mobility until April 26.
NY’s death count nears 4,200, but there’s a glimmer of hope
A slight dip in new coronavirus deaths in New York over the last 24 hours may be a glimmer of hope that the spread is slowing, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday as overall fatalities in the state climbed to nearly 4,200.
Cuomo said it was too soon to determine whether the pandemic had reached its apex.
“We could either be very near the apex, or the apex could be a plateau and we could be on the plateau right now,” Cuomo said.
The state reported 594 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday — a small decrease compared to the 630 new fatalities announced the day before. ICU admissions and intubations were also down, the governor said, while the discharge rate from hospitals was rising.
Fauci: Coronavirus could become seasonal
Dr. Anthony Fauci says there a very good chance the new coronavirus “will assume a seasonal nature” because it is unlikely to be under control globally.
Fauci is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He says the virus is unlikely to be completely eradicated from the planet this year. That means the U.S. could see the “beginning of a resurgence” during the next flu season.
Fauci says the prospect of a resurgence is the reason the U.S. is working so hard to get its preparedness “better than it was.” He says that includes working to develop a vaccine and conducting clinical trials on therapeutic interventions.
Fauci also says states that don’t have stay-at-home orders are not putting the rest of the country at risk as much as they are putting themselves at risk.
Fauci spoke on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
No COVID-19 testing at home yet but quicker options coming
Home testing for the new coronavirus may sound like a good idea, but U.S. regulators say it’s still too risky.
They’ve stopped companies that quickly launched home-testing kits until they can show their products can accurately detect the virus.
For now, the only way Americans can get tested is at hospitals, clinics or drive-thru sites, with a doctor’s order.
After a botched rollout, testing in the U.S. has ramped up thanks to high-volume testing machines and new rapid tests. Last week, federal officials said total tests topped 1.4 million, and labs are processing nearly 100,000 tests daily. That’s the threshold many experts say is needed to track the virus.
Amid coronavirus pandemic, black mistrust of medicine looms
Historic failures in government responses to disasters and emergencies, medical abuse, neglect and exploitation have jaded generations of black people into a distrust of public institutions.
Some call such skepticism the “Tuskegee effect” — distrust linked to the U.S. government’s once-secret study of black men in Alabama who were left untreated for syphilis. Black people already suffer disproportionately from chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease and are far more likely to be uninsured.
How the government and medical community responds to the crisis will be especially crucial for outcomes among black Americans, civil rights advocates and medical experts say.
Already postponed Democratic Convention could wind up online
Former Vice President Joe Biden says the Democratic National Convention that has already been delayed until August may need to be held virtually.
Biden said on ABC’s “This Week” it may not be possible to put tens of thousands of people in one place.
Biden has a commanding lead in delegates and needs to clinch his party’s presidential nomination as the coronavirus’ spread continues to reshape the race for the White House.
Biden says he plans to wear a mask in public. That conforms with federal guidelines that Americans use face coverings in public places.
Queen: History will remember your actions in virus crisis
In a rare address to the nation, Queen Elizabeth II plans to exhort Britons to rise to the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic, drawing on wisdom from her decades as Britain’s head of state to urge discipline and resolve in a time of crisis.
“I am speaking to you at what I know is an increasingly challenging time,” she said, according to excerpts released ahead of remarks that were being broadcast Sunday night. “A time of disruption in the life of our country; a disruption that has brought grief to some, financial difficulties to many and enormous changes to the daily lives of us all.
The queen gives yearly Christmas messages but has given an address like this on only three previous occasions. She delivered speeches after the Queen Mother’s death in 2002, before the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, and at the time of the first Gulf War in 1991.
Palm Sunday services held without public; some on rooftops
Pope Francis celebrated Palm Sunday Mass in the shelter of St. Peter’s Basilica without the public because of the coronavirus pandemic, while parish priests elsewhere in Rome took to church rooftops and bell towers to lead services so at least some faithful could follow the familiar ritual.
Wearing red robes to symbolize the blood shed by Jesus in the hours of his crucifix, Francis blessed braided palms.
“Today, in the tragedy of a pandemic, in the face of the many false securities that have now crumbled, in the face of so many hopes betrayed, in the sense of abandonment that weighs upon our hearts, Jesus says to each one of us: ‘Courage, open your heart to my love,’” Francis said.
Francis urged people to hold fast to “what really matters in our lives.”
“The tragedy we are experiencing summons us to take seriously the things that are serious, and not to be caught up in those that matter less, to rediscover that life is of no use if not used to serve others,” the pontiff said in his homily.
What You Can Do to Keep Yourself and Your Family Healthy
- Take everyday preventive actions to stay healthy.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
- Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.
