The
United States has recorded more than 100,000 deaths from Covid-19,
moving past a grim milestone even as many states relax mitigation
measures to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The
US has recorded more deaths from the disease than any other country in
the pandemic, and almost three times as many as the second-ranking
country, Britain, which has recorded more than 37,000 Covid-19 deaths.
The latest count of fatalities is 100,047 according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Donald
Trump did not immediately react to the news. On Twitter, he posted a
clip of Fox New’s Lou Dobbs calling Trump “arguably the greatest
president in our history”. Earlier this month, Trump said 100,000 deaths
would be “horrible”, but he claimed that actions by his administration
had prevented a much higher toll.
The virus has
killed more Americans than the Vietnam and Korean wars combined, and
the death toll is approaching that of the first world war, when more
than 116,000 Americans died in combat.
The
number of fatalities in the United States is still climbing, , and
federal officials warn that the likely actual toll from the coronavirus
is higher than the official figure.
A tracking project by the Centers of Disease Control
(CDC) of “excess deaths” in each state beyond seasonal averages
suggests the official count of Covid-19 deaths could leave out thousands
of cases.
“These deaths could represent
misclassified Covid-19 deaths, or potentially could be indirectly
related to Covid-19 (eg, deaths from other causes occurring in the
context of healthcare shortages or overburdened healthcare systems),”
the CDC said.
The first confirmed coronavirus
case in the United States emerged on 20 January, in Washington state,
the same day that a first case was confirmed in South Korea. Months ensued
in which the White House told states they would receive minimal federal
support in obtaining testing kits, ventilators, protective equipment
and other gear.
The United States has increased
its testing capacity but has yet to stand up a national plan for the
contact tracing of positive cases, a step South Korea took immediately.
That country has since recorded 269 deaths from coronavirus
.
In
a video, former vice-president Joe Biden expressed grief for the lives
lost and condemned the administration for not acting sooner. “To those
hurting, I’m so sorry for your loss,” Biden said.
Elizabeth
Warren, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts and former presidential
candidate, struck a similar tone. “100,000 Americans are gone. They
were our brothers and sisters. Our friends and neighbors,” she said.
“And too many of them could have been saved if our federal government
had just done more.”
Across
Europe, the virus exacted a terrible toll. Eight of the 10 countries
with the top per-capita rates of Covid-19 deaths are in Europe; the
United States ranks ninth on that list, with about 30 deaths per 100,000
people, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Britain is third, with 55.64 deaths per 100,000.
Health
experts warn that the United States can expect millions more Covid-19
cases and a tragic number of deaths to come, unless the virus takes an
unprecedented and unforeseen vector. With regional infection rates
varying from about 5-20%, most experts believe the virus will continue
to churn through the US population until the overall rate of infection
is 50-60% – or until a vaccine is widely.
Note EU-Digest: May those who lost their life rest in peace and may their
Note EU-Digest: May those who lost their life rest in peace and may their
sacrifice not have been in vain and eventually set America on a new and more democratic course.
Read more at
No comments:
Post a Comment