U.S. Surpasses 430,000 Coronavirus Infections
Disproportionate impacts are seen for U.S. people of color; China lifts Wuhan lockdown; other countries extend shutdowns
U.S. cases of the new coronavirus grew to more than 430,000 Wednesday, as the country recorded its deadliest day yet.
There were 1,973 deaths from Covid-19 in the U.S. during the 24-period ended 8 p.m. Wednesday, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.
In the previous 24-hour period, 1,939 people died from the illness caused by the virus—nearly 50% more than any other day of the pandemic.
Contributing to Tuesday’s national record, New York, New Jersey, Louisiana and Illinois reported their highest daily death tolls from Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, reflecting a steep climb in U.S. fatalities even as officials in some of the hard-hit states cautiously advised their outbreaks were beginning to slow.
Globally, the number of reported coronavirus cases topped 1.5 million, with more than 88,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins data, although the exact figure could be higher. Lack of widespread testing, false negatives and differences in reporting standards have made it challenging to track the extent of the virus.
The pandemic has killed more than 14,600 people in the U.S.—more than the 2009 H1N1 pandemic killed over a 12-month period, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
New data show the pandemic is exacting an especially heavy toll in some regions on people of color. Black and Hispanic New Yorkers make up a disproportionate share of fatalities from Covid-19, according to newly released data by New York state.
“We’re seeing folks who have struggled before really being hit particularly hard by the coronavirus,” said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio at a press conference Wednesday.
New York’s racial data followed a report from Chicago that found black residents accounted for 71% of the city’s coronavirus deaths although they make up just 29% of the population. In Michigan, black people made up 40% of the state’s reported deaths but 14% of the state’s population, according to state and federal data. Similarly, in Louisiana, black people make up 70% of Covid-19 deaths, while representing 32% of the state’s population.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Wednesday that the African-American community is at higher risk for diseases, including the new coronavirus. He urged both young and elderly African-Americans to take extra precautions and continue mitigation efforts.
“We are not going to solve the issue of health disparities this month or next month. This is something we should commit ourselves for years to do,” Dr. Fauci said. “But what we can do now, today is to prevent people who are put at higher risk because of their demographic group from getting into a situation which is much, much more deleterious than the general population.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said more people in his state died of coronavirus on Tuesday than any other day, with 779 deaths, bringing the statewide death toll to 6,268. A surge in critically ill patients in New York City is forcing major hospitals to make worst-case scenario plans for who will live and die, as the coronavirus peaks and strains emergency supplies.
Despite the developments, Mr. Cuomo said social distancing was helping bring down hospitalizations. “There is good news in what we’re seeing, that what we have done and we are doing is actually working,” he said.
In another heartening sign, an emergency field hospital in Seattle meant to treat non-Covid-19 patients will be dismantled and sent to a state with a greater need, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said.
“Don’t let this decision give you the impression that we are out of the woods,” Mr. Inslee said Wednesday. “We have to keep our guard up and continue to stay home unless conducting essential activities to keep everyone healthy.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that since the end of January, the U.S. had repatriated more than 50,000 Americans from more than 90 countries; they were stranded as governments trying to contain the coronavirus outbreak sealed borders and prohibited many flights
In a bid to address testing shortages, the Trump administration said Wednesday it would allow pharmacists to administer tests for coronavirus. Testing efforts so far have been dogged by delays, shortages, and restrictions limiting who can get tested.
With the virus’s economic fallout rippling across America, Europe, Iran, India and elsewhere—millions of people have been thrown out of work—top U.S. lawmakers said they planned to move to provide hundreds of billions of dollars in new funding for small-business loans.
Discussion on additional aid comes as lawmakers, business advocates and entrepreneurs say a federal program administered by the Small Business Administration has failed to distribute funds quickly to help companies weather the fallout.
Meanwhile, President Trump replaced Glenn Fine, the Pentagon’s acting inspector general, who had been charged with monitoring the roughly $2 trillion federal pandemic stimulus law, administration officials said. It is the second high-profile ousting of an inspector general in recent days, and the latest bid by Mr. Trump to exert increased control over personnel across the government.
Unemployment benefits promised under the stimulus law—which may be more generous than what employers could offer—have tipped the scales for some companies in favor of laying off employees.
The economic pressure on Americans continues to build. Nearly a third of U.S. apartment renters didn’t pay any of their April rent during the first week of the month, according to figures from the National Multifamily Housing Council and a consortium of real-estate data providers.
Still, U.S. stocks rose Wednesday, even as European markets edged lower on grim economic forecasts.
European Union finance ministers suspended talks early Wednesday on a half-trillion-euro ($544 billion) aid package, unable to resolve differences within the bloc over how to share the rising costs of the health crisis.
In France, which has recorded more than 10,000 Covid-19 deaths, the central bank Wednesday forecast the biggest drop in economic activity since the end of World War II.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is “improving” after spending two nights in intensive care, “sitting up in bed and engaging positively with the clinical team,” U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said Wednesday. Mr. Johnson was admitted to a hospital Sunday suffering from coronavirus symptoms.
In Wuhan, China, the city of 11 million where the outbreak first began, trains and flights began leaving early Wednesday for major destinations across the country. Wuhan’s reopening comes as China’s National Health Commission reported 62 new infections, with all but three coming from overseas returnees.
Wuhan accounts for about 61% of China’s more than 80,000 coronavirus cases, though epidemiologists, U.S. intelligence sources and Wuhan residents suspect that Chinese authorities substantially undercounted infections and deaths over the past several months.
As Wuhan restarts normal life, government leaders managing lockdowns in other countries were watching for lessons on how to reopen their societies without triggering a second wave of infections.
Italy and Spain, the hardest-hit European countries, headed into Easter weekend in strict lockdown, even as official daily counts of coronavirus infections and deaths were slowing.
Austria began a gradual easing of its month-old lockdown this week, and the Czech Republic and Denmark planned to follow suit after Easter.
In Iran, which also reports declining Covid-19 death rates, lawmakers and health officials have warned that the planned reopening of government offices and smaller businesses this weekend risks triggering a new wave of infections.