Over 400 die of coronavirus in US, confirmed infections jump to nearly 34,000
Washington: The US has seen a significant spike in coronavirus cases with the total confirmed infections jumping to nearly 34,000 while over 400 fatalities were recorded, even as one in every three Americans has been told to stay home.
According to Worldometer, a website which compiles new cases of COVID-19, till Sunday evening at least 33,546 Americans, including Republican Senator from Kentucky Rand Paul, were confirmed infected with coronavirus while the death toll increased to 419.
Paul was the first Senator to have tested positive for coronavirus and he has gone into quarantine.
Meanwhile, at a news conference in the White House, President Donald Trump identified New York, California and Washington as the three major coronavirus hot spots.
New York tops the list with more than 15,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 5,418 new cases added in the 24 hours alone. As many as 114 people in New York have died of which 58 were reported in a day.
Painting a grim picture, Mayor Bill de Blasio said New York is headed towards a major shortage of essential medical supply in next 10 days.
"We're about 10 days away from seeing widespread shortages. If we don't get more ventilators people will die," he said.
In White House, Vice President Mike Pence told reporters that so far, more than 2,50,000 Americans have been tested for coronavirus.
Trump said that he was rushing all necessary supplies to New York. He has issued Major Disaster Declarations for New York, California and Washington.
"We have large quantities of medical equipment and supplies on the way to those states... Respirators, surgical masks and gowns, face shields, coveralls and gloves in large quantities are already being delivered to Washington and New York," he said.
Trump also said that he has directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to supply four large federal medical stations with 1,000 beds for New York, eight large federal medical stations with 2,000 beds for California and three large federal medical stations and four small federal medical stations with 1,000 beds for the State of Washington.
The US president also approved deployment of National Guards in New York.
The supplies en route to California and New York will be delivered within the 48 hours, Trump announced. The president has been holding daily White House news conference for about 10 days now, with each lasting for more than an hour.
Trump said two naval hospital ships were being deployed in New York and Los Angeles, while thousands of surgical masks have been delivered to all these states.
A process is on to massively increase the availability of testing kits, which are fast and quick, he said.
Terming this a challenging time for all Americans, Trump said, "We're enduring a great national trial, and we will prove that we can meet the moment."
Assured the people that he was doing everything possible to confront and ultimately defeat this "horrible invisible enemy".
"We're at war. In a true sense, we're at war and we're fighting an invisible enemy. For those worried and afraid, please know as long as I am your president, you can feel confident that you have a leader who will always fight for you. I will not stop until we win," Trump said.
"This will be a great victory. And it's going to be a victory that, in my opinion, will happen much sooner than originally expected," he added.
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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.
