COVID-19: US grapples with onslaught of cases, China warns risk of new infections

The United States of America has expressed concerns over the widening onslaught of cases of the novel coronavirus after 245,373 people tested COVID-19 positive. China, however, has scrambled to put over 600,000 people in Henan province under lockdown illustrating “dangers of declaring victory” as authorities grow anxious and warn the world of a new wave of infection, as per media reports. 

According to reports, Henan province in central China was instructed by the government to stay at home, as the country braced for the second wave of infection. This comes after the majority of business had returned to normalcy. In the US, meanwhile, 6.6 million sit unemployed due to shuttered business amid containment measures as more than 1,000 deaths were registered for the first time in a day, bringing the death toll from the disease to 6,095.  

As China prepares measures to combat the relapse of the outbreak, the US Federal government declared that its emergency stockpile of respirator masks, gloves, and other medical supplies have nearly exhausted, confirmed media reports. This has led the states and the Trump administration "wondering and clueless", ready to compete for personal protective equipment, Department of Homeland Security officials stated, according to US media reports. Trump announced in a daily press briefing that he signed the Defense Production Act to propel 3M to foster N95 protective masks availability for the medical facilities. He also urged the residents around the less impacted areas to give up using N95 protective masks and depend on non-medical masks designed at home. 

Read: Coronavirus Survivor: 'In My Blood, There May Be Answers'

Read: ICMR Approves Rapid-antibody Testing For Populations In Coronavirus Hotspot Areas

China toll understated

The White House, last week, said in a press conference that the toll China was “quoting” was significantly understated as per the research conducted by the US intelligence. British intelligence agencies supported the claim stating that the toll could be significantly higher by a factor of 15 to 40, a leading UK media outlet reported. Australia’s chief medical officer also claimed while speaking at the Australian news briefing that the accurate global cases of the novel coronavirus was likely “five or 10 times” higher than what has been reflected in official metrics of the countries across the world. Then there was the risk of the second wave, he added. The Communist Party chief of Wuhan, the main epicenter of the outbreak, Wang Zhonglin, was quoted as saying that the risk of a resurgence of the coronavirus. Was “high” and it was compulsory to maintain preventive measures as of now. 

Read: Patriots Plane Transports 1.2 Million Masks From China To Fight Coronavirus In USA

Read: War-battered Yemen Imposes Curfew Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, Releases Low-risk Prisoners