Dr Anthony Fauci issued a stark warning Wednesday that coronavirus may come back in cycles as the death toll in the United States hit 1035, with 252 people dying in a single day.
Speaking at the White House daily briefing the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said that Americans should be prepared for the outbreak to ‘become seasonal’.
His caution came as Donald Trump appeared to soften his desire to lift the lockdown across the county by Easter. The president said he still wants to reopen within that timeframe but acknowledge not all states could meet his timeline.
Opening up the country at Easter rather than two weeks later could kill 450,000 more Americans, graphs published by The New York Times show.
Dr Fauci told reporters: ‘Would this possibly become a seasonal, cyclic thing? I think it very well might.’
The coronavirus expert explained that evidence of cases in ‘the Southern Hemisphere and southern Africa and in the Southern Hemisphere countries’ as they go into their winter seasons could lead to second cycles in America.
He said: ‘And if in fact they have a substantial outbreak, it will be inevitable that we need to be prepared that we’ll get a cycle around the second time.’
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr Anthony Fauci issued a stark warning that coronavirus may come back in cycles as the death toll in the US hit 1035
Fauci said the possibility of a second cycle ‘totally emphasizes the need to do what we’re doing in developing a vaccine, testing it quickly, and trying to get it ready so that we’ll have a vaccine available for that next cycle’.
He offered optimism, saying he knows ‘we’ll be successful in putting this down now’, adding: ‘But we really need to be prepared for another cycle. And what we’re doing, I believe, will prepare us well.’
Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, backed up Fauci Wednesday, adding: ‘We’re dealing with Cycle A right now.’
Discussing lifting the lockdown Trump acknowledged: ‘I’m not going to do anything rash or hastily — I don’t do that. But the country wants to get back to work.
‘There’s big sections of our country that are very, you know little affected by what’s taking place, then there are other sections that are very heavily affected. I would say by Easter we’ll have a recommendation.’
There are more than 68,000 confirmed coronavirus cases across the U.S. as of Wednesday evening; more than 1,000 people have died.
New figures released on Wednesday show that New York, which is the epicenter of the US outbreak, now has 50 percent of the country’s total confirmed coronavirus cases.
There are now more than 33,000 confirmed cases in New York and more than 17,800 in New York City alone. There are 366 deaths in New York, including 280 in the city.
A makeshift morgue has been set up outside New York’s Bellevue Hospital as authorities mobilize to head off a potential public health disaster as the overall U.S. death toll passed 900.
The city’s police, their ranks dwindling as more fall sick, are being told to patrol nearly empty streets to enforce social distancing as the city has emerged as the nation’s biggest coronavirus hot spot.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had earlier said that new evidence suggests social distancing is ‘working’ in slowing down coronavirus, with the rate of hospitalizations slowing every day this week, but that we were ‘still on our way up the mountain’.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo stressed the need for more equipment – specifically ventilators – but said the arrows were pointing in the ‘right’ direction.
‘Evidence suggests density control is working. On Sunday, the projection was hospitalizations doubling every two days.
‘On Monday, it was doubling every 3.4 days. On Tuesday, it was 4.7 days.’
Fauci later appeared on CNN where he said he hopes the help with ventilators in the city ‘will be enough’.
He told CNN: ‘Governor Cuomo is speaking about a certain period of time where he’s going to be running out. He’s now getting help with ventilators, with masks and others. Hopefully that will be enough. I think it will be.’
On whether the US is going to run out of essential items, Fauci added: ‘I don’t think that’s going to happen. I don’t want to scare anybody because I believe in the meetings that I’ve been in at the task force, you’re talking about FEMA, you’re talking about other organizations that are really geared to try and help out.
‘You’re getting private industry involved in making more of these things that we need.’
New figures released on Wednesday show that New York, which is the epicenter of the US outbreak, now has 50 percent of the country’s total confirmed coronavirus cases
There are now more than 33,000 confirmed cases in New York and more than 17,800 in New York City alone. There are 366 deaths in New York, including 280 in the city
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has attributed the cluster to the city’s role as a gateway to international travelers and the sheer density of its population of 8.6 million.
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday warned that four million people in New York City will get coronavirus after attacking Donald Trump’s ‘false hope’ of lifting the lockdown at Easter and slamming Mitch McConnell for ‘blocking’ funding.
Under the terrifying admission, half the people living in the city will get the disease, and if the current trajectory remains the same, at least 40,000 could die.
De Blasio said: ‘It’s a fair bet to say that half of all New Yorkers and maybe more than half will end up contracting this disease.’
He also told New Yorkers not ‘cling to the false hope’ of reopening by Easter after President Donald Trump defied expert advice and suggested that date for lifting lockdowns.
And he slammed Mitch McConnell for ‘standing in the way’ of the funding ‘we need’ as the $2 trillion economic rescue package continued to hit snags in Washington.
Labeling the coronavirus pandemic ‘a growing crisis and growing challenge’ he told New Yorkers to ‘not let their guard down’.
Doctors in the city have described an ‘apocalyptic’ surge in patients in overwhelmed hospitals.
De Blasio added: ‘April is going to be tougher than March, and I think at this point, May could be even tougher than April. People need to be ready for that.’
Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, took a personal tact on Wednesday as she made her latest plea to the American public to practice social distancing.
Birx noted that her grandmother Leah lived with a lifetime of guilt, because she caught the flu at school and, in turn, infected her mother.
Leah’s mother, who had just given birth, died of the flu — one of an estimated 50 million worldwide who died in the 1918 influenza epidemic, Birx said.
‘She never forgot that she was the child that was in school that innocently bought that flu home,’ Birx said of her grandmother, who was 11 at the time.
‘This is why we keep saying to every American: You have a role to protect each and every person that you interact with. We have a role to protect one another.’
The US remains third behind China and Italy with the number of confirmed coronavirus cases.
The infection has killed nearly 20,000 people worldwide since the outbreak began in China in December.
The World Health Organization this week revealed a grim outlook for the United States, saying that the country could quickly become the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic given the ‘very large acceleration’ of confirmed infections.
Senate unanimously passes $2 TRILLION coronavirus stimulus bill to send $1,200 to many Americans ending days of deadlock
The Senate has passed an unparalleled $2 trillion economic rescue package to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, clearing the way for the House to vote on the measure followed by President Donald Trump’s signature.
The bill passed the Senate unanimously by a vote of 96-0 late on Wednesday night after days of contentious debate and negotiations. ‘This is a proud moment,’ said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as the vote was being finalized.
The 883-page measure is the largest economic relief bill in U.S. history, and both parties’ leaders were desperate for quick passage as the virus took lives and jobs by the hour.
The package would give direct payments to most Americans, expand unemployment benefits and provide a $367 billion program for small businesses to keep making payroll while workers are forced to stay home.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) leaves the US Senate floor Wednesday
One of the last issues to close concerned $500 billion for guaranteed, subsidized loans to larger industries, including a fight over how generous to be with the airlines. Hospitals would get significant help as well.
A huge cash infusion for hospitals expecting a flood of COVID-19 patients grew during the talks to an estimated $130 billion. Another $45 billion would fund additional relief through the Federal Emergency Management Agency for local response efforts and community services.
The package is intended as relief for an economy spiraling into recession or worse and a nation facing a grim toll from an infection that’s killed nearly 20,000 people worldwide.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, asked how long the aid would keep the economy afloat, said: ‘We’ve anticipated three months. Hopefully, we won´t need this for three months.’
Senate passage leaves final congressional approval up to the Democratic-controlled House on Friday. House members are scattered around the country and the timetable for votes in that chamber was unclear.
Source: dailymail US
