The United States earned the grim country name for the number of coronavirus infections on Thursday and reported a record rise in unemployment as world leaders pledged $5 trillion to avert global economic collapse.
More than 500,000 people worldwide now have the novel coronavirus, overwhelming health systems even in rich countries and sparking an avalanche of government-ordered lockdowns that have upended the lives of billions of people.
In the United States, more than 83,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19, ahead of Italy, which has reported the highest number of deaths, and China, where the virus was first detected in December in the city of Wuhan.
The United States has recorded 1,178 deaths, while the global figure stands at 23,293.
“We are waging a war against this virus, against all financial, scientific, medical, pharmaceutical and military resources to prevent its spread and protect our citizens,” said US President Donald Trump.
With about 40% of Americans under lockdown measures, Trump suggested citizens do their part by practicing social distancing: “Stay home. Relax, stay home. “
Amid growing fears of a global recession or even depression, leaders of the Group of 20 major economies held video conference talks on the crisis on Thursday, vowing to form a “united front” to fight the epidemic as well as a massive monetary injection.
“The virus does not respect borders,” the leaders said in a statement.
“We are injecting more than $5 trillion into the global economy, targeted fiscal policies, economic measures, and guarantee schemes to counter the social, economic, and monetary effects of the pandemic. “
They also promised “robustness” for emerging countries, where the coronavirus could take hold after devastating China and then Europe.
But the unity promised through the G20 is scarce, with China and the United States trading criticism over its handling of the coronavirus crisis.
And Italy and Spain, which currently has the highest death toll, have opposed a draft European Union economic plan they see as too weak.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte needs a “strong and sufficient” monetary reaction that uses “innovative monetary tools, in fact, suitable for war,” his office said.
– Record number of casualties in one day in France –
Alarmed by the immediate spread of the disease in Italy, France took competitive measures to control the virus and locked down the country on March 17.
But the 365 deaths reported Thursday are a day’s worth and, alarmingly, it is a 16-year-old woman, a rare case of a young woman succumbing to a virus that has devastated the elderly.
“It’s very difficult to estimate when the peak will come,” said French fitness manager Jerome Salomon. “The other people who are in poor physical condition today were inflamed before the lockdown began. “
“Now there are fewer contacts, other people faint less and are less infected. So we hope that next week there will be fewer people with health problems and fewer people hospitalized,” he told reporters.
While hospitals are under enormous pressure, doctors in Italy and Spain are making difficult decisions.
“If I have five patients and a single bed, I have to know who will get it,” Sara Chinchilla, a pediatrician at a hospital near Madrid, told AFP.
“People are dying when they can barely be saved, but there is no place for comprehensive care. “
In Britain, the National Health Service said London hospitals are facing a “continuous tsunami” of critical COVID-19 patients, despite the lockdown imposed this week.
And in New York, the focus of the virus in the United States, the government hopes to stop infections as the city struggles to double the number of available hospital beds.
“Almost all realistic measures will exceed the capacity of the current physical care system,” Governor Andrew Cuomo warned.
New York City first responders were receiving more than 6,000 calls to the 911 hotline each day, many of them from others seeking to get tested for the virus.
This is “a record. We didn’t get that many calls on 9/11,” said Anthony Almojeria, leader of the EMS union, referring to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
– Economic devastation –
The pandemic has already had catastrophic consequences for the economy, and quickly.
In the United States, the world’s largest economy, the Labor Department reported that another 3. 3 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week, much higher than recorded.
The loss of jobs has affected each and every sector, from restaurants to retail to transportation, while nearly a portion of the country has closed its doors to “non-essential” businesses.
“It’s amazing. We only see the first figures; unfortunately they will get worse,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters, estimating that one million more people in the city would lose their jobs.
But Wall Street rose for a third straight day, recovering more from this month’s steep losses, amid expectations of the biggest stimulus in U. S. history.
On Thursday, the Senate unanimously approved a $2 trillion program that will provide cash bills averaging $3,400 for a family of four.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was confident the House would comply with her demand on Friday.
– Light of hope –
The global lockdown, which also limited India’s huge population this week, tightened further on Thursday when Russia announced it would halt all foreign flights, while Moscow’s mayor ordered cafes, department stores and parks to close.
Tokyo’s millions of citizens were also asked to stay home, just days after the city was forced to postpone the 2020 Olympics for a year.
China said it would ban most foreigners from entering, fearing that imported instances would jeopardize its good fortune by cutting off domestic transmissions.
And South Africa has been placed under a nationwide military lockdown as the number of cases has risen to more than 900, about a third of Africa’s 3,200 cases.
The effect of the virus extends far beyond frontline physical workers, with billions of people stuck at home and facing what experts see as lasting mental damage.
But, providing a glimmer of hope, Italy and Spain recorded a decline in new infection rates this week.
The World Health Organization called the Italian figures “encouraging signs” but warned that “it is still too early to say whether the pandemic has peaked. “
A study from Britain’s Imperial College has offered a grim prediction, saying that 1. 8 million people could die worldwide this year, even if swift action is taken to prevent the virus.
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