US toll at 3,899 passes grim 9/11 mark, prepares for worst

New York As the number of deaths from coronavirus passed the grim milestone of the toll of 911 the US stared at questions about its preparedness and the stark prospects of more than 100000 people dying in the pandemicAfter the top doctors dealing with the crisis displayed their statistical model for the pandemics trajectory President Donald Trump said at his briefing on Tuesday This is going to be a very painful a very very painful two weeks when the COVID19s toll reaches its peakThe number of deaths reached 3899 on Tuesday night exceeding the 2977 toll of the terrorist attack on the US the worst mass death in the US and a postWorld War II benchmark for tragedies The number of confirmed cases in the US was 188547New York City the epicentre of the pandemic where 1096 have died gave a preview of how the situation could unfold Outside some city hospitals that had run out of space in the morgue to store the bodies freezer trucks were parked with bodies being brought out on forklifts The New York Post quoted New York Funeral Directors Association official Mike Lanottes as saying that some cemeteries are finding it difficult to handle burials and a backlog could be developingThe supply of personal protection equipment PPE for health professionals and first responders sophisticated ventilators for patients and tests to determine who is affected dominates the response to the pandemic amid questions if there are enough in stockTrump and Vice President Mike Pence say there is adequate stock and more are on the way but others question if the supply can meet the needs of the upcoming onslaughtDemocratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticised Trump for not preparing for the crisis She said on a TV programme that PPEs ventilators and test kits are immediately needed She accused Trump of not fully using his powers under the Defence Production Act to compel companies to manufacture them It will save lives she saidNew York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that the state needed 30000 ventilators in the coming weeks but was receiving only 4000 from the federal government He accused the Trump administration of setting up a competition among states and itself in bidding for equipment raising the prices instead of having a centralised purchase systemBecause of the deindustrialisation of the US under previous administration the US is ironically dependent for a lot of the equipment and supplies on China which is the source of the pandemic and is getting huge profits from it The US is now making auto manufacturers like Ford and General Motors to make the ventilators that cost about 25000 eachTrump said some governors were exaggerating their needsFederal agencies and the military have been deploying hospital ships and rapidly setting up field hospitals around the countryAnthony Fauci and Deborah Brix the medical experts on the Coronavirus Task Force CTF said that the worst phase was two weeks ahead and displayed the models that showed the possibility of 100000 to 240000 people dying before the pandemics end months awayAnd that number was if the US followed the best procedures for controlling its spreadIf it did not follow the guidelines for social distancing the projections show that the death toll could be as high as one million according to the projections they presentedWith a choice between the economy and health Trump has extended till April the guidelines for combating COVID19 with social distancing that has led to the closing of businesses and StayatHome orders at its coreHe called the extension a matter of life and death frankly The guidelines have to be enforced by state and local governments and not all of whom are doing it With 33 only states imposing semilockdown orders one in three people in the US are covered by the StayatHome rules that allow only essential services and shops to operate and limit the movement of individualsTrump said I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead Were going through a very tough few weeksBrix said that controlling the pandemic has no magic therapy or vaccine but depends on behaviour like staying indoors and following social distancingTrump has claimed there are enough ventilatorsFauci and Birx said that the StayatHome orders and social distancing were showing effectiveness in slowing the spread of COVID19The statistical models showed that Washington State where COVID19 first surfaced and California had shown less steep increases compared to New York having imposed strict restrictions early Trump who has been accused of downplaying the magnitude of the pandemic and not acting soon enough was sombre on Tuesday delivering the warning about the oncoming tragedyCalling himself a cheerleader for the country he defended his earlier optimistic stance saying I want to be positive I dont want to be negative Im a positive personCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get the latest updates