The United States continued to lead the world in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths with nearly 75,000 new infections and close to a thousand fresh fatalities reported on Friday alone.
Statistics website Worldometers which collates official COVID-19 data from health centers around the country reported 74,987 new cases and 946 new deaths from COVID-19 in the United States on Friday alone.
The United States has now reported about 140,000 deaths from COVID-19, and health experts are warning that with the number of cases rising and hospitalizations increasing so fast, many more would likely die.
As more Americans die and contract the coronavirus, several states run by Republicans continue to debate whether people should wear masks in public or not. Wearing of face masks has become a political statement in the United States, and Mr. Trump who wore a mask himself for the first time only recently, has been a ferocious anti-mask wearing advocate.
Florida, Texas, California and dozens of other states continue to see a dramatic increase in the number of cases and deaths.
With unemployment benefits set to expire in less than two weeks, jobless Americans may be forced to scrap social distancing and make the situation much worse.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has warned that there could be a second wave of the the potentially deadly virus in the fall which, along with the common flu, could make things worse.
With a presidential election coming here in less than 110 days, President Donald Trump’s chances of re-election have become very slim with a collapsed economy, an escalating health emergency not showing any sign of ending any time soon, and a mismanaged crisis on racial inequality in America.
Unable to campaign, and with parents and students stuck at home, Mr. Trump has begun to sideline Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert, along with other health experts at the CDC, who have warned against sending children back to school at the same time the number of cases in the United States was exploding uncontrollably. Mr. Trump has been pushing for schools to reopen even as things worsen and the White House Press Secretary said this week that “science should not stand in the way” of school reopening.
Many of the children who were sent back to school in Florida have tested positive for COVID-19, and may have exposed their parents and teachers who are more vulnerable.
To beat the coronavirus, health experts around the world, including those at the World Health Organization, have continued to say that with no treatment or vaccine, social distancing, hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, including wearing of face masks, should continue to be used.
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.