US braced for 'hardest and saddest week' as crisis peaks

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Michael Howie6 April 2020

The death toll from the coronavirus in the United States was set to reach 10,000 today as the country was told to brace itself for a “horrific” peak in the crisis.

The number of cases climbed to nearly 340,000 by this morning with more than 9,600 fatalities, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Speaking at his latest White House briefing, President Donald Trump tried to sound a note of optimism while admitting the situation was about to get worse.

“I think we all know that we have to reach a certain point — and that point is going to be a horrific point in terms of death — but it’s also a point at which things are going to start changing,” he said. “We’re getting very close to that level right now.” Mr Trump added that his country was “starting to see light at the end of the tunnel” as authorities said there was a slight glimmer of hope that the spread was slowing.

In one of his longest briefings, he also urged the nation to pray for the families of victims and “ask God to comfort them in their hour of grief”. “With the faith of our families and the spirit of our people and the grace of our God we will endure,” he said. “We will overcome.”

Las Vegas homeless shelter' car park with social distancing

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His comments came after America’s top doctor warned: “This is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans’ lives, quite frankly.”

“This is going to be our Pearl Harbour moment, our 9/11 moment, only it’s not going to be localised,” US Surgeon General Jerome Adams told CNN. “It’s going to be happening all over the country . And I want America to understand that.”

New York state recorded a slight dip in fatalities yesterday compared with the day before, but governor Andrew Cuomo said it was too soon to say whether the pandemic had reached its apex and urged New Yorkers to remain vigilant.

The state reported 594 new coronavirus deaths — down from 630 the day before — bringing the total to nearly 4,200. Mr Cuomo said intensive care admissions and intubations to help breathing were also decreasing slightly while the discharge rate from hospitals was rising.

“We could either be very near the apex, or the apex could be a plateau and we could be on the plateau right now,” Mr Cuomo said. “You can’t do this day to day. You have to look at three or four days to see a pattern.”

New York City officials also reported a dip in fatalities. As of last night, deaths had risen by 218 since Saturday evening, to a total of 2,472. By comparison, there were 387 new deaths reported in the previous 24 hours and 305 the day before that. New Yorkers were also largely following the new guidance to wear face coverings when outside.

Among the latest fatalities was an inmate at the notorious Rikers Island jail, where 321 staff and 273 inmates have tested positive. Mayor Bill de Blasio earlier said 1,000 prisoners in city jails had been freed because of the pandemic.

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