Our reporter takes a look at grim milestone expected today, and what Donald Trump and federal experts have said about prospects of returning to normalcy:
The US was poised on Saturday to reach 19,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths – more than any other country, new data indicate. The US outbreak, now exceeding a half-million confirmed cases, outpaces Spain, the country with the second-most confirmed cases, by approximately 340,000.
On Saturday morning, Johns Hopkins University’s tally of US Covid-19 fatalities was at 18,777. Italy continued to lead in fatalities, with 18,849, but the US was also the first country to report 2,000 deaths in a single day, with 2,108 people dying in the previous 24 hours.
Researchers at John Hopkins have tallied a total of 501,615 confirmed US cases. Spain follows with 161,852. Italy ranks third, at 147,577. There have been 29,191 reported recoveries in the US, the researchers also said.
Worldwide coronavirus deaths now total 103,795. Confirmed cases have reached 1,712,674. Recorded worldwide recoveries total 353,706.
The US coronavirus crisis is widely recognized to have been exacerbated by slow federal responses and patchwork state-level approaches.
White House expert Dr Deborah Birx has said there are positive signs that the outbreak is stabilising, but warned: “We have not reached the peak.”
Dr Anthony Fauci, the top US expert on infectious diseases, recently said the US outbreak will approach its end when new infections number almost zero, with the number of deaths close behind.
“I believe that in a few months, hopefully, that we’ll get it under control enough that it won’t be as frightening as it is now, but it will not be an absent threat,” Fauci told The New York Times.
On MSNBC on Friday, Fauci was asked about the presidential election: “If you had your way, and I know November to a lot of people seems a long time from now, would people in all 50 states have the right and ability to vote by mail?”
Fauci indicated that was not his area of expertise, according to Mediaite, replying: “I would hope that by November we would have things under such control that we could have a real degree of normality. That’s my interest and my job as a public health person.”
Questions about normalcy are especially fueled by the stalled US economy, as coronavirus-related business closures and slowdowns have caused 16 million people to lose their jobs.
Donald Trump has pushed for a reopening of the economy and reportedly hopes to do so by May. But the president has qualified this hope somewhat, saying at Friday’s press briefing: “I want to get it open as soon as possible … I would love to open it. I’m not determined.”
Trump is expected to next week announce a council of medical and business leaders who will assist him with the “biggest decision I’ve ever had to make”: When to reopen America for business amidst a global pandemic.
Health experts have warned that prematurely lifting stay-at-home restrictions could prompt a “deadly resurgence” of coronavirus.
