U.S. coronavirus death toll eclipses China’s official figure as it climbs to 3,906 in just two months amid warnings it could become worse than Italy
The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus climbed past 3,900 Tuesday, eclipsing China’s official count, as hard-hit New York City rushed to bring in more medical professionals and ambulances and parked refrigerated morgue trucks on the streets to collect the dead.
At least 3,906 people in the US have died from the deadly virus by the end of Tuesday, according to data collected by the John Hopkins University.
The global benchmark reports that 3,309 people have died from the virus in China, where the global pandemic originated.
Fears that the U.S. is on track to become the new Italy, whose healthcare system has buckled under the weight of the pandemic, are fast becoming a reality.
Italy has recorded more deaths, with 12,428 as of Tuesday afternoon. However, the U.S. has far surpassed its number of confirmed cases, with the U.S. reaching 189,199 to Italy’s 105,792.
The mounting crisis hit close to home for New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo, who reported teary-eyed that his brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, had tested positive for the virus.
+21
+21
+21
The death toll in the United States reached 3,906 on Tuesday, overtaking China’s which stood at 3,309
China’s cases stand at 82,278 and at least 3,309 deaths have been reported
China’s cases stand at 82,278 and at least 3,309 deaths have been reported
The governor pronounced the disaster unlike any other the city has weathered: ‘This is ongoing and the duration itself is debilitating and exhausting and depressing.’
New York was the nation’s deadliest hot spot, with about 1,550 deaths statewide, most of them in New York City, which braced for things to get much worse in the coming weeks.
A 1,000-bed emergency hospital set up at the mammoth Javits Convention Center began taking non-coronavirus patients to help relieve the city’s overwhelmed health system.
The number of coronavirus cases around the globe now stands at more than 846,000, with more than 41,000 dead
The number of coronavirus cases around the globe now stands at more than 846,000, with more than 41,000 dead
A Navy hospital ship with 1,000 beds that arrived on Monday was expected to begin accepting patients on Tuesday.
The indoor tennis center that is the site of the U.S. Open tournament is being turned into a hospital as well.
The city also worked to bring in 250 out-of-town ambulances and 500 paramedics to deal with a crush of emergency calls.
The fire commissioner said ambulances are responding to double their normal daily total of 3,000 calls to 911.
A five-day stretch last week was the busiest in the history of the city’s emergency services operation.
A Samaritan’s Purse crew and medical personnel work on preparing to open a 68 bed emergency field hospital specially equipped with a respiratory unit in New York’s Central Park +21
A Samaritan’s Purse crew and medical personnel work on preparing to open a 68 bed emergency field hospital specially equipped with a respiratory unit in New York’s Central Park
A body wrapped in plastic is unloaded from a refrigerated truck and handled by medical workers wearing personal protective equipment due to COVID-19 concerns +21
A body wrapped in plastic is unloaded from a refrigerated truck and handled by medical workers wearing personal protective equipment due to COVID-19 concerns
In addition, New York authorities sought to bring on more volunteer health care professionals and hoped to have them on board by Thursday.
Nearly 80,000 former nurses, doctors and others are said to be stepping forward, and the governor said officials are doing background checks for disciplinary actions and otherwise making sure they are fit for duty.
As for Chris Cuomo, the 49-year-old TV newsman tweeted that he has suffered from fever, chills and shortness of breath and will be doing his shows from his basement, where he has quarantined himself.
Staff members of a cemetery perform a tomb-sweeping ritual on March 31, 2020 in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province of China. Official figures state that 3,309 people have died from the virus in China, where the global pandemic originated +21
Staff members of a cemetery perform a tomb-sweeping ritual on March 31, 2020 in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province of China. Official figures state that 3,309 people have died from the virus in China, where the global pandemic originated
He said he is worried about infecting his wife and children but added: ‘We will all beat this by being smart and tough and united!’
‘Luckily we caught it early enough,’ the governor said. ‘But it’s my family, it’s your family, it’s all of our families. But this virus is that insidious, and we must keep that all in mind.’
In the smoldering hot spot of Louisiana, the death toll climbed to 239.
+21
Louisiana and Michigan were running out of ventilators, despite promises by the White House of more equipment.
Cuomo described the bidding for ventilators as like being ‘on eBay.’
Louisiana’s governor said the hard-hit New Orleans region is on track to run out of breathing machines by the weekend and hospital beds a week later.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks as the Navy Hospital Ship USNS Comfort arrives in Manhattan’s Pier 90 +21
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks as the Navy Hospital Ship USNS Comfort arrives in Manhattan’s Pier 90
The hospital ship has been drafted in to help relieve the strain on local hospitals with its 1,000 beds and 1,200 personnel +21
The hospital ship has been drafted in to help relieve the strain on local hospitals with its 1,000 beds and 1,200 personnel
The Trump administration has committed to sending 150 ventilators from the national stockpile, but the state hasn´t received an arrival date.
Michigan said it needs 5,000 to 10,000 more.
Meanwhile, a senior military general said the Pentagon has not yet delivered any of the 2,000 ventilators it offered to the Department of Health and Human Services two weeks ago because HHS has asked it to wait while the agency determines where the devices should go.
In Florida, the Holland America cruise line pleaded with state officials to let two ships dock and carry off the sick and the dead.
Dozens aboard have reported flu-like symptoms, and four people have died.
Customers stand on line outside Whole Foods Market located at the corner of West 125th Street and Malcom X Boulevard in Harlem, New York, on March 31 wearing masks +21
Customers stand on line outside Whole Foods Market located at the corner of West 125th Street and Malcom X Boulevard in Harlem, New York, on March 31 wearing masks
Health care workers test people at a coronavirus testing site setup by the the Florida National Guard in the parking lot of the Hard Rock stadium on March 30 +21
Health care workers test people at a coronavirus testing site setup by the the Florida National Guard in the parking lot of the Hard Rock stadium on March 30
But Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Fox News: ‘We cannot afford to have people who are not even Floridians dumped into South Florida using up those valuable resources.’
As the crisis continues to hot up in the U.S., China reported just one new death from the coronavirus and 48 new cases, all of them from overseas.
In Wuhan, people were ready to ‘revenge shop’ as the city that was once at the very center of the outbreak reopened for business.
However, Dr. Takeshi Kasai, the World Health Organization’s regional director for the Western Pacific, cautioned that the risk in Asia and the Pacific is not gone.
‘This is going to be a long-term battle and we cannot let down our guard,’ Kasai said.
Most of China’s 3,309 deaths were in Hubei province, in the outbreak epicenter Wuhan.
A body wrapped in plastic is loaded onto a refrigerated container truck used as a temporary morgue at Brooklyn Hospital Center in Brooklyn +21
A body wrapped in plastic is loaded onto a refrigerated container truck used as a temporary morgue at Brooklyn Hospital Center in Brooklyn
A hospital employee transfers a body on a forklift to a temporary mobile morgue, put in place due to lack of space at the hospital +21
A hospital employee transfers a body on a forklift to a temporary mobile morgue, put in place due to lack of space at the hospital
However, experts and politicians have cast doubt on the numbers coming out of China, and have even accused the country of lying and covering up key information during virtually every stage of its coronavirus response.
Beijing initially tried to cover up the virus by punishing medics who discovered it, denying it could spread person-to-person and delaying a lockdown of affected regions – meaning early opportunities to control the spread were lost.
Then, once the virus began spreading, the Communist Party began censoring public information about it and spread disinformation overseas – including suggesting that US troops could have been the initial carriers.
Even now, prominent politicians have warned that infection and death totals being reported by the regime are likely to be wrong – with locals in the epicenter of Wuhan suggesting the true tolls could be ten times higher.
Chinese health officials admitted Tuesday that more than 1,500 cases of the virus involving asymptomatic people that had not been previously reported.
Worldwide, more than 800,000 people have been infected and over 40,000 have died, according to the tally from Johns Hopkins University.
Italy and Spain have been some of the hardest hit, accounting for half the deaths so far.
Italy reported that the infection rate appears to be leveling off and new cases could start declining, but that the crisis is far from over.
