COVID-19 cases in U.S. top 140,000: Johns Hopkins University
People's Daily Online
(Xinhua) 13:18, March 30, 2020
WASHINGTON, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States has topped 140,000, according to the latest tally from Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE).
As of Sunday night, the country has registered more than 142,000 confirmed cases, with 2,489 deaths, an interactive map from the CSSE showed.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday at a press briefing at the White House that the national social distancing guidelines aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus will be extended to April 30.
"On Tuesday, we will be finalizing these plans and providing a summary of our findings, supporting data and strategy to the American people," Trump said.
The president also said "modeling suggests" that the peak of the COVID-19 mortality rate in the United States "is likely to hit in two weeks," adding that he hopes the nation will be on its way to recovery by June 1.
Speaking at the White House briefing, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned that it's "entirely conceivable" that more than 1 million people in the nation could be infected with the coronavirus, and 100,000 deaths are possible.
"The number I gave out is, you know, based on modeling," he told reporters. "What we're trying to do is not to let that happen."
The social distancing guidelines -- originally designed to last 15 days and due to expire Tuesday if not extended -- advises Americans to avoid nonessential travel, prevent gatherings of 10 people or more, and the elderly to stay at home, among other steps.
Scott Gottlieb, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, called the extension a "prudent, public health minded, courageous decision."
"April will be a hard month," Gottlieb said in a series of tweets on Sunday. "We need to stick with measures until we see sustained decline in cases."
New York State has had both the most cases and the most deaths in the country, which have exceeded 59,000 and 960, respectively, according to the CSSE update.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted on Sunday that the state is directing its non-essential workforce to continue to work from home until at least April 15.
Globally, the number of COVID-19 cases has surpassed 721,000, with more than 33,000 deaths. Italy is the only nation that has reported over 10,000 deaths.
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