The number of Coronavirus cases in the US has been rising exponentially over the last few days. There are already more than 50,000 infected people in the US and it seems that it might overtake Italy if the virus is not stemmed. Despite a low number of deaths in the US (less than 1000) the World Health Organization (WHO) thinks that the US might become another hotspot for the pandemic. Complete Coverage: Coronavirus
Crux of the Matter
No One Wants to Rank Higher in This Game In a span of two weeks, US has seen a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases. The situation, that very much feels like Italy, could make the US the next epicenter of the pandemic, says WHO. US’s most densely populated city New York has seen a massive surge in the number of cases. With more than 26,000 cases, it constitutes nearly 45% of cases in US. As of 25th March 2020, the US has more than 55,000 cases as compared to 1,301 cases on 11th March 2020 – a 4200% rise in two weeks! Italy is nearing 70,000 cases and has the highest fatality rate from COVID-19 of nearly 10%. As per WHO, Coronavirus epicentre shifted first from China to Europe, specifically Italy, and now it is shifting to the US.
Coronavirus stats for USA: Total: 55,000+ NEW cases today: 11,000 (highest so far) Total cases doubling every 3 days. NYC is the hot spot pic.twitter.com/elbSVzNIS3 — World Affairs (@GMOChannel) March 25, 2020
Complacent US Government US government was among the first nations to announce interest rate cuts and fiscal stimulus package to combat the impact of Coronavirus. However, the rising number of cases in New York has required hospital beds three times more than what is available. Meanwhile, Prez Trump was seen making an announcement that he wants targeted lockdowns only and does not want to hurt businesses unnecessarily. Trump said he would open the country by mid-April around Easter.
If you ask the American people to choose between public health and the economy, then it’s no contest. No American is going to say accelerate the economy at the cost of human life. – Andrew Cuomo, New York Governor
In 2009, Swine Flu had emerged from the US, and during Week 16 it was much less spread and fatal than COVID-19. The doubling rate of Coronavirus is higher than that of Swine Flu. Therefore, before the complacent behavior of the US takes many lives of its citizens, strong measures to contain the virus would be necessary.
Curiopedia
Coronavirus in Italy An ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 was first confirmed to have spread to Italy on 31 January 2020, when two Chinese tourists in Rome tested positive for the virus. One week later an Italian man repatriated back to Italy from the city of Wuhan, China, was hospitalised and confirmed as the third case in Italy. A cluster of cases was later detected, starting with 16 confirmed cases in Lombardy on 21 February, and 60 additional cases and first deaths on 22 February. By the beginning of March, the virus had spread to all regions of Italy. On 22 February, the government established a lockdown for eleven municipalities in Lombardy and Veneto. On 7 March, the government prepared to extend until 3 April the restricted zone to all of Lombardy, plus fourteen other provinces. The lockdown affects over 16 million people, roughly a quarter of Italy’s total population, and prevents people from entering or leaving the zone, except “for proven occupational needs or situations of need or for health reasons”, under threat of fines. The pandemic provoked large economic damage to the Italian economy. The sectors of tourism, accommodation and food services were among the hardest hit by foreign countries’ limitations to travel to Italy, and by the nationwide lockdown imposed by the government on 8 March. Multiple factories, like Fiat Chrysler, halted production in some of their plants. On 12 March, the Italian stock market was among the worst hit during Black Thursday, when the FTSE MIB index lost 17% of its value in one day. More Info
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