COVID-19 in the United States have surpassed 143,000 cases in total, along with more than 2,500 deaths in the country as of Monday (30 March). The country is on top of the list of the highest number of cases in the world, surpassing Italy and China.
As reported on US News, the worsening spread of the coronavirus led the President of United States, Donald Trump, to announce the extension of the stay-at-home orders to 30 April. Americans are now being asked to prepare for at least another 30 days of severe economic and social disruption as schools and business are forced to close down.
Despite hospitals across the United States experiencing a shortage of medical supplies in order to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing number of people infected, Mr Trump had announced that that the United States will send medical equipment to Italy, France, and Spain.
This particular announcement was made during his daily briefing at the White House yesterday, stating that a large number of the aid was destined for Italy since Italy has the world’s highest death toll caused by COVID-19. According to CNA, Mr Trump was reported to have announced that the nation will be sending things that “they don’t need” to other parts.
“We’re going to be sending approximately US$100 million worth of, of things, of surgical and medical and hospital things to Italy. We’re also sending things that we don’t need to other parts,” stated Mr Trump.
It was only a week ago that New York’s mayor warned that the city was running out of supplies like ventilators as New York is one of the hardest-hit states in the US. There are almost 60,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New York alone, and as of yesterday, there are over 1,000 coronavirus-related death cases in that state, as mentioned on CNN.
Mr Trump ordered General Motors to manufacture the equipment needed for critical care, and he stated that these breathing apparatus will be sent to the aforementioned European countries.
“We’re going to be sending them to Italy. We’re going to be sending them to France. We’re going to be sending them to Spain, where they have tremendous problems, and other countries as we can,” Mr Trump said.