Virus outbreak in the US
Emergency hospital in Manhattan: New York becomes a corona epicenter, Trump a target
23.03.2020 | 12:46
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From New York to Los Angeles on the west coast, nearly a third of America’s 330 million are exit restrictions. Many people now fear losing their jobs because of the economic slump. The US is a country in a state of emergency.
“If we don’t tell people to stay home and change their behavior … we’ll have tens of thousands more deaths,” said Illinois Governor JB Pritzker on Sunday in an interview with CNN. The state has imposed an extensive curfew on its around 13 million residents, including the city of Chicago. More than 7,000 National Guard soldiers are already deployed against the virus across the country, and the armed forces are already preparing for further missions. In many places the necessary coronavirus tests are lacking, which is why the extent of the epidemic in the USA is not yet foreseeable.
New York hotspot: 15,000 infections
The state of New York has so far been the worst hit nationwide with more than 15,000 Sars-CoV-2 infections. In the metropolis of New York, most shops and many restaurants are closed, and the hospitals are canceling all non-essential interventions. The city is desperate to create more intensive care beds. A US military hospital ship with 1,000 beds is expected to arrive soon. In addition, the military is to set up an emergency hospital with up to 1,000 beds in an exhibition center in Manhattan, and more are being requested for neighboring areas in New York State.
“If we set up these institutions, we will save lives. If not, people will die,” Governor Andrew Cuomo told journalists. At the same time, he appealed to the nearly nine million people in New York to adhere to the exit restrictions after crowds of people in public parks on Saturday in spring weather. “That’s no joke.” Failure to do so will endanger everyone. “This is not the life we are used to,” said Cuomo. About 40 to 80 percent of the population would be infected in the coming months, he warned.
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Photos from Chicago and Los Angeles meanwhile showed almost empty multi-lane streets, in Florida deserted beaches were to be seen according to official orders. Churches remained closed in many parts of the country, and church services were mainly via live stream. A Catholic church in the state of Maryland, on the other hand, opened its parking lot for confessions: a believer can stop there and a pastor – within a prescribed safety distance of about two meters – then takes the confession.
Missing protective clothing
By Sunday evening, a good 30,000 people in the USA were infected with the Sars-CoV-2 virus, and around 400 deaths were reported. The number of cases continued to rise rapidly, especially in New York.
There, Mayor Bill de Blasio warned that the hospitals would soon run out of masks and protective clothing as a result. The city urgently needs help from the Washington government. “If we do not get more ventilators in the next ten days, people will die who otherwise would not have to die,” he said in an interview with CNN. “This is the new reality in the United States – it starts here, but it will reach all 50 states,” warned de Blasio.
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“April will be much worse than March and May can be worse than April. That is simply the truth,” said de Blasio. President Donald Trump must mobilize the military, he said. “We need our forces and we need them now.”
Fierce criticism of Trump
Many governors complain that the administration of US President Donald Trump is not doing enough and that there is a lack of masks and protective clothing, for example. Trump then suggested on Saturday – contrary to current regulations – that hospitals could simply disinfect and reuse masks. The President had played down the epidemic until the end of February and has therefore now put up with the accusation that he acted too late to spark the crisis. He now appears at press conferences almost every day and extensively praises his government’s crisis management.
Critics were unimpressed. “First we were told [das Virus] was just a joke, then we heard that everything would be fine, then it was said that the economy was in good shape until the collapse came, “said Democratic MP Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, referring to Trump, as did several Governors urged New Yorker Trump to use a wartime law to force the private sector to produce protective clothing, masks and ventilators: “We cannot wait for people to really die in large numbers.”
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Economic crash
The exit restrictions have brought large parts of the economy to a standstill. People no longer go out to eat, no longer travel and only buy the bare essentials. Analysts are therefore anticipating a recession and a sharp rise in unemployment – and that in a country with very limited unemployment insurance.
Layoffs can happen very quickly in the US compared to Germany. First data indicate a sharp rise in the unemployment rate. The US Congress is therefore already knitting a massive stimulus package that includes direct payments to all Americans, loans for ailing companies and an improvement in unemployment insurance. The volume is said to be more than one trillion dollars (900 billion euros).
For Trump, the foreseeable economic downturn in the election year is extremely inconvenient. The good economic situation during his tenure has been one of his most important campaign messages in the run-up to the presidential election on November 3rd. Meanwhile, Trump is spreading optimism and declaring that the economy will take off again “like a rocket” after the “victory” over the virus. However, experts doubt this.
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Life after the virus
New York is currently the epicenter of the epicenter of the US epicenter, but the city and state have been through several crises, not the least of which is the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. “Life goes on – differently, but it goes on,” said Governor Cuomo on Sunday. Now there are restrictions in everyday life, but at some point the Covid 19 epidemic will be over. New York and America would ultimately grow from the crisis, said Cuomo. “Coping with challenges makes you stronger.”
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