It is definitely very different from last week, “said doctor Craig Spencer in an interview: Last week there were one or two suspected corona cases at Columbia Hospital in Manhattan. Today, however, practically all patients are corona sufferers, and many of them leave it’s extremely bad, the doctor told CNN.
The first proven Corona case in New York was on March 1st, so it was only three weeks ago. And according to all models, New York today is “only at the beginning of this eruption.” Then there is the increasingly pressing problem of missing materials: “Even when I was working in West Africa, I never had to worry about missing protective clothing. Now many colleagues are afraid of that. Surgical masks have to be reused for a whole week. And we know that this is just the beginning. Then it will be in New Jersey, in New Mexico … It will be a marathon, “said the doctor.
The corona crisis has not only arrived in the USA, the country is now at the top worldwide: According to US experts, the USA now has more known coronavirus infections than any other country. There were 82,400 known infections in the U.S. as of Thursday afternoon (local time), putting the U.S. just ahead of China and Italy.
New York is the worst hit with more than 30,000 corona cases. The number of registered corona infections in the city of eight million people is currently doubling every three days.
The number of corona deaths in the USA already amounts to 1,000 victims; In the metropolis of New York alone, 280 people perished from the virus.
The authorities in New York are therefore building a makeshift morgue. The white tents were set up outside of Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan. A hospital ship has already set course for New York to provide new care options in the port.
The website “Politico” reported, citing anonymous sources in the Ministry of Homeland Security, that the morgues in the east coast city were expected to reach their capacity limits next week.
Donald Trump wants “full churches for Easter”
Despite all the predictions that the outbreak in the USA is more at the beginning than at the end, US President Donald Trump does not want to admit it. He wants to see full churches by Easter – in two and a half weeks. Right-wing radio presenters like Glenn Beck are already drumming the slogan: Better to die of the virus than to let the country (or: its economy) die.
Because the US economy is not doing well in the election year. The US Federal Reserve even said this week that the United States could slide into recession: This means that the economy will contract for two consecutive quarters.
As a result of the escalation of the corona pandemic in the USA, initial jobless claims have skyrocketed. In the week to March 21, their number increased roughly tenfold from 282,000 to around 3.3 million, as the US Department of Labor announced on Thursday. In the previous week – at the beginning of the epidemic in the USA – the initial applications had risen by 70,000 to 281,000.
The rapid spread of Sars-CoV-2 has also brought public life to a standstill in the USA. Almost half of the approximately 330 million Americans are now subject to exit restrictions imposed by states – even in the normally bustling city of New York. Many shops are closed, restaurants and hotels remain empty, and countless trips have been canceled. Many employees of closed companies therefore have to apply for unemployment benefits.
Terminations are usually much faster in the USA than in Europe, for example. In the USA there was no regulation such as short-time work.
The stimulus package is to be adopted on Friday
With an economic stimulus package, with which the US Congress wants to pump around 2 trillion dollars (1.9 trillion euros) into the economy, the previously very limited unemployment benefits will be expanded. In addition, employers should be able to take employees off for up to four months instead of dismissing them. During this time, the state would pay for the salary. The Senate voted in favor on Thursday, and the House of Representatives is expected to vote in favor on Friday.(when / what / dpa)
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