Two decisions on Thursday suggest that the US government is assuming that the coronavirus crisis will disrupt air traffic for a much longer time than many assume. In the afternoon, the State Department called on all US citizens abroad to come home immediately or prepare to stay indefinitely. It was also urgently “advised not to travel internationally”, the strictest travel warning there is.
In the evening, the White House then announced that the G-7 meeting planned for mid-June at US President Camp David’s country estate near Washington had been cancelled. Instead, there will only be a video conference of the heads of state and government of the seven leading industrialized nations. The cancellation of the meeting should help the G-7 countries to focus their resources on the fight against the corona crisis, it said.
The government of President Donald Trump had previously issued entry bans against various countries, including the Schengen countries of the EU and Great Britain. These should initially only be valid for 30 days. The borders with neighboring Canada were also partially closed, and the southern border with Mexico followed a short time later.
[Wie schütze ich mich? 66 Fragen und Antworten zum Coronavirus]
How the Americans abroad should come back, however, is rather unclear. In the solicitation, they were instructed to develop plans that did not rely on government help. That could be difficult. The major airlines have already significantly reduced their capacities. United Airlines canceled 85 percent of international flights earlier this week, Delta 80 percent and American Airlines 70 percent. The cuts could get worse in May, it said.
California imposes a curfew – effective immediately
Later that evening, California also showed that the situation is becoming increasingly dramatic. Governor Gavin Newsom imposed a curfew on all of the state’s nearly 40 million residents. This should apply immediately and was not limited in time. The city of Los Angeles had taken this step shortly before.
All this indicates that those responsible are increasingly adjusting to the fact that the corona pandemic threatens to paralyze public life not only in the next few weeks but also months. Therefore, as in other countries, the increase in the number of cases should be weakened.
New York faces a health emergency
The situation in New York City is particularly explosive. From Tuesday to Thursday alone, the number of infections detected there increased more than fourfold and was most recently almost 4000. This is mainly due to the increasing number of tests, which were hardly available in the USA for a long time. New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo believes there are tens of thousands of actual cases in his state.
[Welche Folgen hat das Coronavirus bislang in Berlin? Lesen Sie hier unseren Live-Blog.]
New York, the largest city in the USA with around nine million inhabitants, is threatened with a health emergency. There are not enough hospital beds available, nor are there currently enough ventilators to be used in severe cases of the lung disease caused by the virus. Governor Cuomo is still resisting a curfew like in California.
The number of corona cases is increasing rapidly
In the United States, the number of corona cases had recently increased significantly. The number of confirmed infections is now more than 13,000. At least 200 people have already died from the infection. The authorities expect a further steep increase in the number of cases, since significantly more people are now being tested.
In view of the catastrophic consequences of a pandemic that will continue to rage for months, Congress in Washington is struggling to find the right answer to the crisis. The Republicans in the Senate presented their plans for another legislative package on Thursday evening, which includes, among other things, an economic stimulus program worth billions.
In addition, most taxpayers should receive a check for $1,200, plus an additional $500 per child. Overall, the government wants to pump around one trillion dollars (900 billion euros) into the economy. Trump’s Republicans control the majority in the Senate.
[Mit dem Newsletter “Twenty/Twenty” begleitet unser US-Quintett Christoph von Marschall, Anna Sauerbrey, Juliane Schäuble, Malte Lehming und Tilman Schröter Sie jeden Donnerstag auf dem Weg zur Präsidentschaftswahl. Hier geht es zur kostenlosen Anmeldung: tagesspiegel.de/twentytwenty]
“We must act boldly and quickly,” said Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The legislative package will probably be changed in the subsequent negotiations. But it still needs to be approved urgently.
Democrat Schumer calls for “Marshall plan” for the health system
However, the opposition has already expressed its skepticism. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the proposal was far from pro-worker and favored employers over workers.
The Republican senators want to discuss the 200-page legislative package with the Democrats this Friday in order to work out a common version. The aid package then needs the approval of the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives. Many Democrats have already called for larger checks for Americans. They also want health care, unemployment insurance and massive investments in infrastructure to be strengthened.
Senator Schumer compared the efforts now required with the reconstruction of Europe after the Second World War. “We need a Marshall Plan for our health system.”
–
