Donald Trump reviews the White House response to the coronavirus crisis with Mike Pence and doctor Deborah Birx, March 4, 2020. – Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP / SIPA
The United States on alert. Two new deaths related to coronavirus were identified Wednesday, bringing to eleven the number of deaths on the American soil, whereas the parliamentarians agreed to release a budget of more than 8 billion dollars for stem the epidemic.
Governor of California Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in the state after announcing that the coronavirus had killed a patient in Placer County, near the capital Sacramento, the first victim recorded outside Washington state since the beginning of the epidemic on American soil.
California “works with the federal authorities to trace the persons who could have been exposed in order to treat them and protect public health”, wrote the governor in a press release, without giving more details on the victim or the way she had been exposed to the disease. “This state of emergency will allow the state to better prepare our communities and our health system if the epidemic spreads further,” he said on Wednesday.
Criticized for the lack of transparency in the management of his administration of the crisis, Donald Trump took stock of the common sense measures with Debbie Birx, responsible for coordinating the response of the White House. “Wash your hands for 20 seconds, don’t touch your face …”, she started, before being interrupted by a joke from the American president: “I haven’t touched my face for several weeks, I miss it. “
In a humorous moment, as Dr. Birx talks about precautions people should take in washing their hands and not touching their face amid coronavirus outbreak, President Trump interjects: “And I haven’t touched my face in weeks, in weeks. I miss it. ” https://t.co/aiXgwPARlr pic.twitter.com/T5ckD9y2qj
– ABC News (@ABC) March 4, 2020
Origin of new cases known
Six new cases of Covid-19 were reported in the megalopolis of Los Angeles (ten million inhabitants) while five other patients were treated in New York (more than 20 million inhabitants) after being in contact with a patient.
Los Angeles health officials have insisted that the six newly identified cases were exposed to Covid-19 through close contact with already infected patients and that it was not an unknown source . Three of the infected patients are travelers who have traveled to northern Italy, one of the main sources of coronavirus in Europe, said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of public health for Los Angeles County.
Two more of the cases listed on Wednesday concerned people who had been in contact with a family member who was himself infected, and the last case is a patient whose profession puts him in contact with travelers, added Dr Ferrer. Only one of the six sick people has been hospitalized, the others are confined to their homes with medical monitoring.
Five cases in New York
In New York, the new patients are family members and a neighbor of a patient already tested positive for coronavirus. At the same time, a new person died of infection with the Covid-19 coronavirus in Washington State (northwest), where until then all the victims, mainly elderly and poor people, had been concentrated.
The President of the House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, announced that a “bipartisan and bicameral agreement” had been reached between elected Republicans and Democrats for additional funding of $ 8.3 billion to fight against ‘epidemic. The provision was adopted Wednesday afternoon by the House of Representatives and will be voted on Thursday by the Senate.
Vice President Mike Pence, who coordinates coordinates the fight against the epidemic in the United States will travel to Minnesota Thursday to visit a factory of the company 3M manufactures protective equipment, in particular masks. He will then go to Washington to meet with Governor Jay Inslee to discuss measures to contain the virus in the Seattle area.
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