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The death toll in the United States from the coronavirus pandemic exceeded 50,000 on Friday, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University.
According to the tracker, 50,031 people have died in the US. USA By COVID-19 since the beginning of the global health crisis, with more than 8,70,000 confirmed cases.
The United States is the hardest hit of any country as the coronavirus pandemic develops. In the past 24 hours, 3,176 people died from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins, one of the deadliest days on record since the pandemic began.
According to a Reuters demonstration, an average of about 2,000 Americans have died every day this month.
The actual number of cases is believed to be higher, and state public health officials warn that the shortage of trained workers and materials has limited testing capacity.
Deaths are also likely higher, since most states only count victims from hospitals and nursing homes and not those who died at home. About 40% of deaths occurred in New York State, the epicenter of the outbreak in the US. USA, followed by New Jersey, Michigan and Massachusetts.
At 50,000, the deaths have exceeded the total number of American lives lost in the 1950-53 Korean War: 36,516. The total also exceeds seasonal flu deaths in seven of the nine recent seasons, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Flu deaths range from a low of 12,000 in 2011-2012 to a high of 61,000 lives lost in the 2017-2018 season.
States ready to reopen
With the toll exceeding 50,000, Georgia, Oklahoma and a handful of other states took tentative first steps to reopen their businesses on Friday despite disapproval from President Donald Trump and health experts.
Gyms, hair salons, tattoo parlors, and a few other businesses were authorized to open their doors by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, who ignored warnings from public health officials that relaxing restrictions could lead to more infections and deaths.
The southern state has become a hot spot in the debate over how fast the country should go back to work. While COVID-19 disease is killing thousands of Americans daily, home stay policies have left millions unemployed.
Despite the loss of revenue, not all eligible companies in Georgia took the opportunity to reopen. Shay Cannon, owner of Liberty Tattoo in Atlanta, said it would reopen in May by appointment only and did not anticipate a return to normal until June or later.
“We are just looking at the numbers and doing what seems right to us,” Cannon said.
Jasmine Maskell, owner of Timeless Tattoo in Atlanta, said it would not open Friday but would slowly resume business over the next two weeks under strict precautions.
The store would function as if everyone was infected, Maskell said. “We will simply operate under that notion and then we can keep everyone safe here,” he said.
Oklahoma opened some retail businesses on Friday, Florida began allowing people to visit some of its beaches last Friday, South Carolina began easing restrictions on Monday, and other states will relax the guidelines next week.
A Republican, Trump has given mixed signals on when and how the country should start working again after weeks of confinement. This month he called on Democratic governors to “liberate” their states, but, in a change this week, he said at a press conference that he disapproved of Georgia’s move to reopen.
Late Thursday, Trump generated new confusion about COVID-19’s treatment prospects, suggesting that scientists should investigate whether patients could be cured by ingesting disinfectant.
The comments prompted doctors and health experts to warn the public not to drink or inject disinfectant. Lysol and Dettol maker Reckitt Benckiser issued a statement of its own.
“Under no circumstances should our disinfectant products be administered to the human body (by injection, ingestion, or any other route),” the company said.
Confusing for customers.
US Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, a Republican like state governor Kemp, said the reopening on Friday was confusing for customers.
“Everyone is supposed to stay home, but we are opening these businesses,” Collins told Fox News. He first cited federal guidelines that require states to experience a two-week decrease in cases, and said parts of Georgia were still struggling to treat patients.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose state has been hardest hit by the coronavirus, said reopening the economy too soon in any state was a danger to others. “Suppose the virus got on the plane that night and flew to New York or flew to the Newark airport. That must be the operational mindset,” he said.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said Georgia did not have the hospital capacity to handle the outbreak and warned of a second wave of cases.
According to a model maintained by the University of Washington Institute for Health Assessment and Metrics (IHME), which is used by the White House, hospitalizations in Georgia will peak next week.
Oklahoma, with far fewer cases and deaths than Georgia, began opening beauty salons, hair salons, and other personal care businesses on Friday. The IHME model predicts that Oklahoma already reached its peak hospitalizations on Tuesday and could loosen restrictions on June 17.
Tennessee reopened most of its 56 state parks on Friday, before the partial reopening of restaurants and retail stores next week.
On Friday, Texas began its “retail-to-go” reopening phase, allowing retail stores to deliver products to homes or customers to wait in cars in parking lots and store workers to deliver the items.
In practice, many Texas businesses have either been doing this for weeks or stayed fully open, as Governor Greg Abbott’s ranking of essential businesses included all major stores, bike shops, anyone selling fishing or camping supplies , dry cleaners and farmers markets, among others. .
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday extended her stay-at-home order until May 15 as a Midwest state, but lifted restrictions on some businesses and allowed the public to participate in outdoor activities such as golf.
(With contributions from AFP and Reuters)
