After months of staying in denial over the Coronavirus situation in the US and silently renegotiating ‘his’ debts with ‘his’ bankers President Donald Trump has finally accepted the harsh reality out loud – that all is not okay with the States as it nears half a million COVID-19 cases. The question now on every betrayed American’s mind is – You got us in it, how are you planning to take us out of it? Complete Coverage: Coronavirus
Crux of the Matter
How Hard Have They Been Hit? US recorded its highest single-day coronavirus death on Tuesday this week, with more than 1,800 fatalities in 24 hours as per data released by Johns Hopkins University, Maryland. As New York becomes the leading hotspot of 4755 deaths, the graphs below give you the fitting visuals of the horror that follows in California, New Jersey, and Michigan.
Johns Hopkins CSSE notes that they rely upon publicly available data from multiple sources, with US accounting for one-quarter of global COVID-19 deaths
An all-time high for US coronavirus cases, in the past 5 days
New memos have revealed how Trump had been warned fairly in advance by his White House advisors, about the impending doom of COVID-19 standing at their doorstep, that could derail the economy instantly while killing thousands of Americans in the process. Senior scientists, epidemiologists and health emergency experts across the nation continued to raise their voices, while all fell to their president’s deaf ears.
Grim reality of the States tells us how little they learnt from Wuhan and Italy
WHO Blew it or Trump? In an official press conference, Trump lashed back at the World Health Organisation (WHO) by calling them Chinese-centric in this whole COVID-19 fight-back and giving out bad advice to the leftover, clueless international public. He went on to threaten WHO by halting funding to the global health agency if the need arises.
𝙈𝙮 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨: 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙪𝙨. 𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚, 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙞𝙚𝙨.@DrTedros appeals for unity over #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/pDMN6Lu5np — UN Geneva (@UNGeneva) April 8, 2020
WHO chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom on the other hand defended his agency’s handling of the pandemic and requested leaders globally to keep faith in them. They added that with ‘honest leadership’ from both China and the US, focus can be shifted back to the main agenda – saving more lives.
War of PPE Begins, Help Thy Neighbours No More Developing countries are worried seeing US’s self preservation tactics of hijacking shipments of PPE (Personal Protective Equipments) and additional crucial supplies, like ‘diverting’ 200,000 face masks back to the States, before ‘letting’ the rest of the order arrive in Berlin, Germany.
“America is not prepared and nurses are not being protected.” US nurse quits over lack of personal protective equipment in the fight against #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/JS82hLEjV6 — Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) April 2, 2020
It is a national disgrace that our health care workers still don’t have the protective equipment they need. Donald Trump needs to fully use the power of DFA. Joe Biden, Former Vice President of the USA
Then in an ironic role reversal case of a superpower and the ones that need its help, Trump announced earlier this week that he was invoking the DFA (Defense Production Act) to restrict U.S. exports of key medical gear like gloves & gowns. This, in turn, allowed him to direct companies like 3M to prioritise the national demand of N95 masks by health workers and angered the mask manufacturer’s hopeful international recipients, Canada and Latin America.
‘Yes you can!’: Trump Makes India Lift HCQ Ban Trump had repeatedly endorsed HCQ (Hydroxychloroquine) as a possible cure for COVID-19. The efficacy of HCQ for COVID-19 is being debated currently, with some anecdotal evidence of positive results from Chin, South Korea and India, although substantial clinical studies to back this hypothesis are pending. One of the world’s largest manufacturers of this anti-malarial drug India decided to ban its export to first meet the domestic demand, and this did not go down well with the President.
Extraordinary times require even closer cooperation between friends. Thank you India and the Indian people for the decision on HCQ. Will not be forgotten! Thank you Prime Minister @NarendraModi for your strong leadership in helping not just India, but humanity, in this fight! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2020
After a phone call exchange between him and India’s PM Narendra Modi and a subsequent news briefing, a retaliation was hinted in case the latter does not implement his ‘request’. Subsequently, Indian authorities lifted the ban on HCQ, paracetamol and 24 other drugs & ingredients, confirming they had a manageable medical stock.
Unemployment Written on the American Cards Even with millions forced out of work in the US, there was a promising silver lining in the form of CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act). Signed into law on March 27, its benefits claimed to be extended to gig workers, part-time employees, and the self-employed. Sadly, the authorities are yet to update their systems to account for the PUA (pandemic unemployment assistance) and 2.4 million Californians have applied for unemployment to date.
More than 12% of Pennsylvania’s labor force filed for unemployment in March. Trump’s chaotic coronavirus response is costing us our jobs. pic.twitter.com/LWmigkoNfO — CAP Action (@CAPAction) April 5, 2020
Michele Evermore, a senior policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project, says, even so, these budgets are based on the previous year’s state unemployment rate, making them foolishly base this huge economic crisis on the lowest unemployment rate in history. In the meantime, Social Security Administration says it has been ‘trying it’s best’ to work with the Treasury to ensure citizens, including those with limited internet availability and the elderly /disabled, get their stimulus payouts on time.
Enough of the Blame Game, We Need a Solid Plan With denials past us, it’s safe to assume that we all lie on the same page now – Unified Preparedness in a global fight against COVID-19. With federal guidelines being followed at the local and state level, worldwide authorities now have to tackle the lack of availability of widespread testing mechanisms. If countries cannot stop the virus from spreading further, it becomes more likely to re-emerge.
This morning, 450,000 protective suits landed in Dallas, Texas. This was made possible because of the partnership of two great American companies—DuPont and FedEx—and our friends in Vietnam. Thank you! @DuPont_News @FedEx pic.twitter.com/8yhG6tYnQW — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2020
There can be enough for all, only if we are ready to share. Only If we don’t let this virus scratch on our past wounds and differences with each other. With social media connecting giving us all the minute by minute updates and individuals and communities working on crowd-sourcing solutions, there is still hope to win this invisible battle together.
"I hope other people can learn from Wuhan" Residents of Wuhan, the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic originated, have been sharing lessons as they emerge from nearly three months of lockdownhttps://t.co/ZUxejysuTB pic.twitter.com/lEbQxJvVxE — BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) April 8, 2020
Curiopedia
Out of 4,34,791 cases in the USA, 1,49,316 are from New York state.
Out of 50 states, 8 of them have still not declared statewide lockdown.
Initial Epicentre of COVID-19 was China, which then shifted to Europe when WHO declared it as the epicentre on 13th March. Two weeks later, an announcement was made that the USA might become the next epicentre if corrective measures will not be implemented.
Curated Coverage
The Guardian – Trump was warned in January of Covid-19’s devastating impact, memos reveal
BBC News – Coronavirus: US records highest death toll in single day
Our World In Data – Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), Statistics and Research
Business Insider – Trump threatened to cut off funding to WHO
Forbes – After Trump’s Retaliation Threat, India Lifts Restrictions On Hydroxychloroquine
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