US hospitals on the brink as cases swell
Infections worldwide at over 11m people
WASHINGTON: Officials at the epicentre of the worsening coronavirus crisis in the United States warned on Sunday their hospitals were in danger of being overwhelmed by the upsurge as India registered a record number of new cases.
The US has struggled to respond to the devastation wrought by the virus, with its national death toll rising to near 130,000 out of 2.8 million confirmed cases, and many states hit by increasing infections after lockdowns were eased.
Hospital beds are full in parts of Texas, while calls for fresh stay-at-home orders are growing. Some mayors say their cities reopened too early, as President Donald Trump tries to downplay the disease that has gripped much of the country.
India faces similar challenges as it clocked a record daily number of cases across a vast nation where medical facilities are uneven and many Covid-19 infections are likely to be undiagnosed.
The pandemic has killed at least 531,789 people worldwide since it surfaced in China, according to a tally on Sunday based on official sources.
More than 11 million people have been infected in 196 countries and territories.
After the United States, Brazil is the hardest-hit country with 64,867 deaths, followed by Britain, Italy and Mexico.
The US’ July 4 holiday weekend was overshadowed by evidence that its fractured response has exacted a heavy price across the south and west after previous hotspots such as New York emerged from the worst of the virus.
“Our hospitals here in Harris County, Houston, and 33 other cities... they’re into surge capacities. So their operational beds are taken up,” said Lina Hidalgo, chief executive of Harris County, which includes Houston, Texas.
“Restaurants are still open. Indoor events can take place no matter the size,” she told the ABC TV channel. “What we need right now is to do what works, which is a stay-home order.”
Steve Adler, the mayor of Austin, Texas, also expressed concern that the healthcare system could buckle as the disease spreads rapidly.
“If we don’t change the trajectory, I am within two weeks of having our hospitals overrun. And in our ICUs, I could be 10 days away from that,” he said.
Phoenix city mayor Kate Gallego said, “We opened way too early in Arizona” state. She suggested that a new stay-at-home order should be issued.
The US is now recording 40,000 new cases a day, with a peak of 57,000 on Friday.
One high-profile victim of the global shutdown — the Taj Mahal — will remain closed, it was announced on Sunday as India reported 25,000 cases and 613 deaths in 24 hours — the biggest daily spike since the first case was detected in late January.
In the capital New Delhi, medical staff started treating patients at a spiritual centre converted into an isolation facility and hospital with 10,000 beds, many made of cardboard and chemically coated to make them waterproof.
Critics allege India is conducting very few tests, leaving the true scale of the pandemic unknown.
Like India, South Africa imposed some of the strictest stay-at-home measures in the world in late March in a bid to limit the spread of Covid-19, but the number of infections is rising daily as the lockdown rules are gradually eased.