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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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
