'Aspirational': Doc Leading US' Coronavirus Fight To Trump's Desire To Reopen Country By Easter
Last week, a defiant US President Donald Trump said that his government was working hard to ensure reopening of businesses and getting Americans back to work by Easter, April 12.
AP
A lot has happened since. The States now has the most number of coronavirus related cases after a surge in last few days. Latest figures show the confirmed cases of the virus have crossed 1 Lakh.
The United States has around 15,000 more confirmed cases then the second country on the list, Italy, and 20,000 more than China, where the disease was first identified but has since peaked.
AP
The doctor leading the US' coronavirus fight, Anthony Fauci, said that President Donald Trump was giving an "aspirational projection to give people some hope" when he floated the idea of reopening the country soon.
Fauci claimed that Trump was listening to the medical experts on his White House coronavirus taskforce about whether to make the decision to lift the government's health restrictions imposed to fight the virus.
"He's listening to us when we say we really got to reevaluate it, in real time, and any decision we make has to be based on the data," Fauci said on CNN's Global Town Hall, "Coronavirus: Facts and Fears."
AFP
The current circumstances puts US President's desire to real test and paints a gloomy picture. The bustling city-state of New York is the epicentre of the country's coronavirus crisis.
New York City has reported nearly 30% of the US's coronavirus cases. More than 20,000 people there have been infected (though that's only those who have been tested), and at least 280 people across New York's five boroughs have died - accounting for one-quarter of all US COVID-19 deaths.
The city reported its first case on March 1.
New Yorkers older than 75 have the highest coronavirus--related hospitalization rate - about 38%. This age bracket's death rate, which is calculated by dividing the number of total cases by number of fatalities, is more than 6%.