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WASHINGTON: Washington’s top virus expert warned against easing the blockades too quickly on Tuesday (May 12) when Russia and India defied rising death tolls to begin returning to work.
The harsh words of government epidemiologist Anthony Fauci fueled concern that even a cautious exit from the world’s unprecedented economic shutdown could trigger a second wave of coronavirus.
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In testimony to US lawmakers, Fauci admitted that the true death toll from the epidemic in the United States is probably higher than the official number of 80,000, the highest in the world.
And despite the evident desire of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, to restart the economy, Fauci warned that if cities and states ignore the guidelines to safely get out of their blockades, “the consequences could be really serious.”
This follows a warning from the World Health Organization that a second wave of the disease, which has killed more than 286,000 people worldwide, could erupt if new infections escape controls.
And it occurs when Russia gradually began to relax the blocking rules, even as the country’s infections increased by more than 232,000, now the second most confirmed case in the world after the US. USA
The country reached the milestone on Tuesday after a week of reporting more than 10,000 infections a day and, as confirmed, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman tested positive for the virus.
But parts of the country came back to life on Tuesday, the end of a “no job” period that allowed some people to return to their jobs again.
For those challenging public transports, masks and gloves were a must under the new antivirus regulations.
“It is positive, because it is a necessary measure,” said Tatiana Khan, 25, speaking on a half-empty bus in Moscow.
“If everyone had worn masks from the beginning, had observed precautions, I think we would not have had as much spread of the epidemic,” he added from behind a surgical mask.
113 YEAR OLD SURVIVOR
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a $ 270 billion economic stimulus as the Asian giant’s economy comes to life.
Its gigantic rail network restarted in defiance of a recent spike in the number of infections, with 3,600 registered on Monday, just below Sunday’s record.
Passengers wearing face masks or bandanas on their mouths queued in front of the New Delhi station on Tuesday, waiting to be examined for symptoms of coronavirus.
Ajay Dewani, a photographer stranded in Ghaziabad, said he walked for four hours to reach the station.
“They haven’t paid me for two months and my landlord was bothering us about the rent,” he told AFP, carrying a backpack and taking out a wheeled suitcase.
Meanwhile, Iran said it would reopen mosques for three nights this week for the first time since March, after struggling to contain the outbreak that has killed more than 6,700 people there.
South Korea, credited with one of the world’s most successful antivirus campaigns, said it was using mobile phone data to track visitors to Seoul nightclubs after a group of new cases.
The outbreak, which forced delaying the reopening of schools, hit gay places and potential carriers may fear showing up due to the stigma surrounding homosexuality.
And in Britain, which already has the most confirmed deaths in Europe, the Office for National Statistics said reports of nursing homes for the elderly suggest that a government account of 32,065 deaths underestimates the overall figure.
However, there was some encouraging news from Spain when the country’s probable oldest resident, Maria Branyas, 113, recovered from the illness.
Her daughter Rosa Moret told Spanish media that her mother was “fit, wanting to talk, explain, reflect, had become herself again” after she tested negative after her illness.
‘RADICAL TRANSPARENCY’
Precautionary economic and social blockades have cut a global economic sector, and although many areas are now cautiously returning to work, world markets are operating cautiously amid fears of a second wave.
The United States has by far the largest number of cases in the world, but Trump is eager to reopen the economy quickly amid growing job losses.
However, he faces resistance, and Fauci warned of the dire consequences if Americans return to work and group leisure activities before the pandemic is under control.
On Monday, the WHO called for “extreme vigilance” against a second wave.
Observers nervously watch Wuhan, where the virus was first reported late last year, after the Chinese city registered the first group of new COVID-19 infections since it reopened after a 76-day blockade on April 8.
Chinese authorities moved to assess the entire population of the city’s 11 million people after new cases were reported there.
In an interview with AFP, renowned American epidemiologist Larry Brilliant urged China to be “radically transparent” with medical researchers if it wants to avoid suspicion that it is the fault of the spread of the disease.
Scientists believe the virus originated from bats and jumped from them directly to humans or through other animals before reaching humans.
But there have been unproven claims, even from Trump, that the disease somehow escaped from a Chinese laboratory.
“Chinese scientists should be allowed, and should be allowed, to study the origin of the disease,” said Brilliant, who helped lead the WHO campaign to eradicate smallpox four decades ago.
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