COVID-19 has killed more than 1000 Americans in the past 24 hours, even as President Donald Trump was declaring victory in Washington D.C. in front of a big crowd of more than 1000 people who were wearing no masks and were not social distancing.
Trump accepted his party renomination at the White House to run for re-election in November but there were immediate fears that many of his supporters with no masks on during his long speech may come down with the coronavirus and spread it all over the country.
The shocking image at the White House on Thursday night, with Trump supporters wearing no masks and seated next to one another, chatting and screaming, captured one of the most striking differences between candidate Joe Biden and President Donald Trump.
One who seems to be taking the coronavirus crisis seriously, who is wearing masks and recommending masks to others and following the science, and a President who downplays the virus, and by his attitude, is endangering the lives of his supporters, their relatives and the entire country by extension.
Already, COVID-19 has killed more 180,000 Americans under President Trump leadership, according to the latest data by Johns Hopkins University.
The university’s coronavirus tracker showed that 180,814 people had died from coronavirus in the United States as 1 a.m. on Friday, August 28. That number was 179,743 American deaths as of 10 a.m. on August 27. The number of deaths and cases was increasing rapidly and would certainly be different in a few hours.
Right now, the United States has the worst coronavirus death toll and the highest number of infections in the world, with health experts warning that with the cold season fast approaching, the death toll would increase.
Nearly 6 million people have contracted coronavirus in the United States, according to the latest data.
Globally, more than 24 million people have been infected with COVID-19 and over 826,000 deaths have been recorded.
President Trump has claimed victory over his handling of the coronavirus, but his failure to acknowledge the threat soon enough, his persistence in describing the virus as a hoax at big rallies and on television, and his refusal to wear a face mask or to mandate states to do so, have led to a catastrophic response.
In addition, President Donald Trump’s failure to reach an agreement with Congress over a coronavirus relief bill that may prevent a catastrophic response in the fall may lead to more deaths.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recalled last week that during the 1918 flu pandemic, the second and third waves of the virus were deadlier. Close to a million Americans succumbed to the deadly virus.
There is no vaccine at the moment and no cure, and health experts project that a safe vaccine may only be available in 2021. They have warned that rushing to develop a vaccine may not be in the best interest of American public.
President Trump’s opponent in the presidential election in November, Joe Biden, who is leading in all polls, has said he would listen to science if elected President.
According to the Democrat, economic activity cannot pick up unless the country defeats the novel coronavirus.
Once that is done, Joe Biden has promised to rebuild America back better.
However, whether Biden is elected or Trump is re-elected, too many lives have been lost already, the damage seems to have been done, and the next administration would need to act decisively to prevent more deaths, lockdowns and shutdowns that may paralyze the economy again.
Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa. Simon covers President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. government, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington D.C. and New York City.