The new center of the coronavirus pandemic is no longer in Asia or Australia, but in America: The number of infections in the USA is now higher than in any other country in the world. President Trump still preaches a rapid economic recovery.
For a long time, the US government did not consider the corona virus to be an American problem, and the danger was overestimated. How wrong she was was clear this Thursday at the latest. By evening, the total number of Sars-CoV-2 infections had risen to 81,578 cases. This means that the United States has more known coronavirus infections than any other country. In China, 81,578 cases of infection have been counted since the outbreak of the pandemic, while Italy has 80,539.
At a press conference in the White House, President Donald Trump said the high number of confirmed infections in the United States is because so many tests are being carried out in the country. In other countries like China, you don’t know what the real numbers are, Trump said. In fact, experts believe that in many places there are far more infections than tests have so far confirmed.
Unemployment is skyrocketing
Trump said the surge in unemployment in the United States as a result of the coronavirus epidemic was temporary. As soon as the country has defeated the “invisible enemy”, the virus, the economy will recover “very quickly”. “We will come back very strongly,” the President promised. The United States Department of Labor previously announced that the number of initial jobless claims rose from 282,000 to around 3.3 million in the week ending March 21. It was the biggest increase since records started. The initial applications are an indicator of the short-term development of the labor market in the world’s largest economy.
Even in large parts of the USA, the rapid spread of the corona virus has almost brought public life to a standstill. Almost half of the approximately 330 million Americans are now subject to exit restrictions imposed by states. Many shops are closed, restaurants and hotels remain empty, trips have been canceled. Many employees of closed companies must therefore apply for unemployment benefits.
Trump announced a rescue program for the particularly badly battered airlines. In addition to loans and direct aid, this could also include government participation. The U.S. could not allow the airlines to go bankrupt due to the coronavirus epidemic, Trump said.
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