Washington / New York (dpa) – Despite the worsening coronavirus crisis in the United States, President Donald Trump has decided not to block hotspots such as New York for the time being. “Quarantine will not be necessary,” Trump wrote on Twitter. Previously, he had expressed considerations to largely isolate particularly affected parts of the country.
According to the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, almost 125,000 infections with the Sars-CoV-2 pathogen have been detected in the USA. Fifty-six percent of all new infections are found in New York City, director of the National Institute for Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, told CNN. Almost 2,200 people died with or from Covid-19. Fauci believes that between 100,000 and 200,000 people could die, and anticipates millions of corona cases in the United States.
The state of Illinois is also investigating the death of a baby infected with the virus. The exact cause of death should be clarified, it said from the local health department.
For several hours on Saturday, there was a possibility that the Washington government could drastically restrict freedom of movement for people in the states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to curb the spread of the virus. “Some people would like to see New York quarantined because it’s a hotspot,” Trump told reporters in the White House garden. He also added, “I would rather not do it, but maybe we need it.”
With the not yet ready-to-speak statements, Trump promptly received criticism from the governors of the states concerned. New York state governor Andrew Cuomo made it clear that he had not spoken to Trump about the possibility of quarantine, and expressed doubts about the legality of such a move from Washington. “It would be a declaration of war on the states,” said Cuomo. The Connecticut governor, Ned Lamont, called for clarity. On Twitter, he warned that confusion leads to panic. At the same time, he said that measures such as far-reaching exit restrictions are already in place in his country to slow the spread of the virus.
On Saturday evening, after consulting with the governors and his coronavirus working group, Trump resolved the uncertainty with a tweet: “A quarantine will not be necessary,” Trump said. Instead, the CDC health agency released a travel tip. The more than 30 million residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are encouraged to avoid unnecessary domestic travel within the next 14 days. This does not apply to employees in, for example, healthcare, financial service providers or the food industry. Travelers across the country have been called upon to take precautions to prevent them from becoming infected or helping the virus to spread further. On Monday, the government could issue new recommendations on how Americans should behave in the future.
The number of infections detected in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut together make up more than half of all US infections. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio painted a dramatic picture of the situation in the metropolis. “Here in New York it literally feels like it was in wartime,” said de Blasio CNN, agreeing that the crisis would go on for a long time. The doctors and nurses could not continue to work for weeks at the current pace and needed support. He could only guarantee that the hospitals would run smoothly for one week.
The US east coast state of New York with the metropolis of the same name has become the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the USA. Local authorities have repeatedly warned that the capacities of the hospitals there are nowhere near ready to infect large sections of the population. There may be shortages in ventilators.
According to local media, the clinics could reach their capacity limits for the first time in the coming days. The “Comfort” hospital ship with its 1000 beds is supposed to provide relief, and set off for the state of Virginia on Saturday from New York. Trump was personally there at the expiry. “You have the steadfast support of the entire nation, the entire government, and the entire American people,” Trump said to the New Yorkers.
In New York, one of the world’s cultural and economic centers, the coronavirus pandemic has largely paralyzed public life. Restaurants, bars, schools, museums and Broadway shows are already closed in the city. All citizens are called to stay at home. Institutions and companies that were not classified as vital were closed.
– .
