Americans brace for ‘hardest, saddest’ week of their lives
AMERICANS BRACED for what the nation’s top doctor warned Sunday would be “the hardest and saddest week” of their lives while Britain assumed the unwelcome mantle of deadliest coronavirus hotspot in Europe after a record 24-hour jump in deaths that surpassed even hardhit Italy.
“This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment,’’ US Surgeon General Jerome Adams told Fox News Sunday.
New York City, the US epicenter of the pandemic, saw a glimmer of hope, with Gov Andrew Cuomo saying that daily deaths had dropped slightly, along with intensive care admissions and the number of patients who needed breathing tubes inserted.
Still, he warned that it was “too early to tell” the significance of those numbers.
Italy and Spain also got some encouraging news. Italy registered its lowest day-to-day increase in deaths in more than two weeks — 525, said Angelo Borrelli, the head of the national Civil Protection agency. The pace of infection also seemed to be slowing. The country recorded 4,316 new cases Sunday. Earlier in the outbreak, daily increases topped 6,000. Even so, Borrelli warned: “This good news shouldn’t make us drop our guard.”
Confirmed infections fell in Spain too, and new deaths declined for the third straight day, dropping to 674 — the first time daily deaths have fallen below 800 in the past week.
“We are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said.
BLEAK OUTLOOK
The outlook in Britain remained bleak. As of Sunday, Britain has recorded 4,934 virus deaths overall among 47,806 cases. Those coming down with the virus in the UK include Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the health secretary, England’s chief medical official and Prince Charles, heir to the throne.
There are wide fears that Johnson’s Conservative government did not take the virus seriously enough at first and that spring weather will tempt Britons and others to break social distancing rules.
In an address to the nation on Sunday, Queen Elizabeth II appealed to Britons to exercise self-discipline in “an increasingly challenging time”. The 93-year-old monarch said the pandemic had caused enormous disruptions, bringing grief, financial difficulties and daunting challenges to everybody. It is only the fourth time since her reign began in 1953 that she has given such an address.
“I hope in the years to come, everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge,” she said in pre-released remarks. “And those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any.”
Worldwide, more than 1.2 million people have been confirmed infected and more than 65,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. The true numbers are certainly much higher, due to limited testing, different ways nations count the dead and deliberate under-reporting by some governments.