Today, 27th March 2020 number of corona virus-infected people in the US surpassed China. The total number of infected patients in the US has crossed 85,000 marks, whereas China is at 81,000 followed by Italy with little more than 80,000 infected patients. The rate of increase in the number of infected people in the US is staggering. New York is the most affected state in the US with more than 45% of the total infection cases in the US. The total number of infection cases in the US is likely to hit 100,000 marks in the next few days. In that case, the US will be the first country to have 100,000 active COVID-19 infection cases in the world.
Ineffective Partial Lockdown
If we take a closer look at the lockdown situation in the US in various states, it is not that great. There is an absence of uniform lockdown restrictions across the states. Each state has its own terms of lockdown. Some of the states have imposed strict rules, whereas some are lenient. This lack of uniform national policy against this pandemic making plenty of room for the spread of this infection in the community. Many other countries like South Korea, Japan, and India with stronger national policies contained the spread infection to greater extend.
Trump’s Plan to Open the Country by Ester
President Donald Trump says he wants the nation “opened up and just raring to go by Easter”, which is just two weeks away on 12th April. However, he did not tell based on which study or report he made that decision. Considering the current situation in US, this decision is being criticized by most of the healthcare experts. Obviously, President has made this decision to save the US economy, however US citizens not ready to pay the prize of this economy with lives of their loved ones.
US Senate Approved Historic $2 Trillion Package
Senate approved the package with a unanimous vote count of 96-0 in favor of the package. This is the biggest package approved by the senate so far in the history of the US. The package will address the economic issues arise by the COVID-19 outbreak and countrywide lockdown. Post-approval from the senate, the package is yet to get approval from the House. There are numerous provisions for many industrial sectors that are economically distressed industries.
Individuals earning $75,000 in adjusted gross income or less would get direct payments of $1,200 each, with married couples earning up to $150,000 receiving $2,400 and an additional $500 per each child. Individuals with income more than $99,000 and $198,000 for couples without children are excluded from the benefits of this package.
The package also has provisions for the healthcare sector, which includes hospitals, providers, insurances, etc. Patients with no insurance policies will also receive benefits from this package.
Need Aggressive Measures
Considering the current situation of the outbreak in the US, it needs more aggressive measures throughout the country. Mandatory lockdown, aggressive testing and building sufficient isolation wards, tracking down suspects are few important measures that every country need to take. The US is repeating the same mistakes of European countries like Italy and Spain. Trump’s government needs to act quickly on this matter, else situation will be far worse than the current.
Mayur is a part time journalist with about 2 years experience. While working in the field of healthcare, Mayur found a passion for finding engaging stories. As a contributor to White Pine Tribune, Mayur mostly covers International Politics and Life Sciences Related Stories
