Looking to have fewer deaths than originally thought, says Trump as COVID-19 toll crosses 12,000
Washington: The number of deaths in the US due to the coronavirus on Tuesday crossed 12,700, with a record 1,900 fatalities in a single day, as President Donald Trump sought to assure a grieving nation that new data projections reveal fewer deaths than originally thought.
We're looking to have far fewer deaths than originally thought. I think we're heading in that direction, but it's too early to talk about it, Trump told reporters at his daily White House news briefing.
While the death toll in the US continues to soar and those being infected by the deadly virus now approaching four lakhs, the highest for any country in the world.
New York, the epicentre of COVID-19 in the US, alone accounts for 5,400 deaths and 1,38,000 cases, followed by adjoining New Jersey with 1,200 deaths and 44,416 cases.
The national number of both fatalities and cases of infections are expected to jump during the next week, officials believe, but they exuded confidence that strict enforcement of social mitigation measures, including social distancing, would help bring things under control in the next few weeks.
We are seeing light at the end of the tunnel, Trump said during a White House meeting on Small Businesses.
Nearly 97 percent of the America's 330 million population are under stay-at-home order. In the last 10 days, the US Army has added thousands of new beds by converting large public spaces like convention centres into makeshift hospitals.
Thousands of ventilators have been distributed, along with millions of face masks, personal protection equipment and essential medical supplies.
A lot of the occupancy is really getting a little bit lower than anticipated, and that is good, Trump said. I think maybe we are getting to the very top of the curve, he added.
Referring to his conversation with the New York Governor Andrew Cuomo he said he seems to think that he is getting close to the peak.
Hoping that they are soon going to hit the downslide, he said this is, however, going to be a very difficult week.
This week will be a very difficult week because that is the most difficult week when you are at that top position and we will see what happens, Trump said.
As we stand here today in the midst of heartbreaking numbers of losses in New York City, I also want to assure the American people that there is reason for hope, Vice President Mike Pence told reporters during the daily White House briefing on coronavirus.
Latest figures from the ground, he said, reflects evidence of stabilization in some of the areas around the country of the most significant outbreak, the New York metro area including New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut, New Orleans metro area, Detroit, Boston, Chicago and Denver.
This, in a very real sense, is evidence that the American people are putting into practice the social distancing, the president's guidelines, he said.
The social distancing measures have now been extended till April 30.
According to Dr Deborah Brix, member of the White House Task Force on coronavirus, "figures from the last three days show that in a series of communities outside New York, New Jersey and Connecticut is creating a much flatter graph, almost much flatter curve".
"The lower curve parameter in cities like Detroit and Chicago shows the amazing activity of every American in those cities to ensure that they're social distancing," he said.
Americans are understating more and more that while we tend to think of this as one large curve in our minds when it began in our country and we long for the day that it will end and we hasten that day by putting into practice some of these mitigation efforts, Pence said in response to a question.
In an interview to a local radio station in Arizona, Dr Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the new models are projecting less than 100,000 deaths as against the previous projection of between one and two lakhs.
Those models that were done, they assumed that only about 50 per cent of the American public would pay attention to the recommendations. In fact, it would seem, a large majority of the Americans are taking the social distancing recommendations to heart -- and I think that's the direct consequence of why you're seeing the numbers are going to be much, much, much, much lower than would've been predicted by the models," Redfield told Tucson Radio Station.
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Mass funeral of four brothers leaves UAE community in mourning after fatal road accident
Report: Thufail Muhammad Abudhabi
Dubai: The funeral of four young brothers who died in a tragic road accident near Abu Dhabi drew hundreds of mourners to the Al Qusais cemetery on Tuesday evening, leaving the UAE’s expatriate community in deep shock and grief.
The children Ashaj (14), Ammar (12), Azaam (8) and Ayyash (5) were the sons of Abdul Latheef and Ruksana, natives of Kerala’s Malappuram district. The family was returning to their Dubai residence after attending the Liwa Festival on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi when their car met with a fatal accident early Sunday morning.
Three of the children died on the spot, while Azaam succumbed to his injuries on Monday evening during treatment. The family’s domestic helper, Bushra Fayaz (49), also lost her life in the crash. Her body was repatriated to India on Monday night, and funeral rites were held in Kerala on Tuesday.
Abdul Latheef, who sustained injuries in the accident, arrived at the cemetery from Abu Dhabi in a wheelchair, his hand in a sling, to attend the burial of his sons. Mourners described the scene as one of the most heartbreaking they had ever witnessed.
“I have never seen the mass burial of children from the same family. It was devastating for everyone present,” said a social worker who assisted the family.
The couple’s only daughter, Izza (10), survived the accident with minor injuries and is undergoing treatment. Unaware of the loss of her brothers, she was seen playing on a mobile phone from her hospital bed.
Relatives said informing the parents about the tragedy was handled with extreme care. Abdul Latheef was told late on Sunday night, while Ruksana who had undergone surgery for an injury to her hand was informed only on Tuesday after counsellors were brought in to break the news professionally.
Before the burial, the parents were allowed to see their children one last time. Ruksana was taken by ambulance to the mortuary, while Abdul Latheef obtained special permission for temporary discharge from hospital to attend the funeral. Ruksana remained hospitalised with her daughter.
Though the family holds Ras Al Khaimah visas, special permission was obtained to conduct the burial in Dubai, where the family resides and where most relatives are based. Community members expressed gratitude to the Dubai authorities for facilitating the process.
Abdul Latheef runs a business in Ras Al Khaimah, while Ruksana works as a property consultant in Dubai. All five children were students of Arab Unity School in Dubai, following the British curriculum. The school management issued a circular to parents outlining measures to support students and families affected by the tragedy and advising on how to discuss the loss sensitively with children.
The cause of the accident has not yet been officially confirmed by Abu Dhabi Police. Public discussions have pointed to possible factors such as dense winter fog and overspeeding, though authorities are yet to release findings.
