Washington: Over 10,000 confirmed coronavirus cases were reported in a single day Monday in the US, raising the number of COVID-19 patients to 43,734, as President Donald Trump signed an executive order to prevent hoarding of vital medical supplies and personal protective equipment.
The US also for the first time registered over 130 deaths in a day due to coronavirus, taking the total number of fatalities to 550 by Monday night.
Trump also warned that his government would take action against hoarding and excessive pricing of vital medical and personal protective equipment as well as supplies such as hand sanitisers and face masks.
“Very simply, we will not allow anyone to exploit the suffering of American citizens for their own profit,” Trump asserted. He warned that the Justice Department will aggressively prosecute fraudulent schemes related to the pandemic that has killed more than 15,000 people worldwide.
New York State, in particular New York City, emerged as the hotspot of one of the worst public health crisis in the US in recent memory. Nearly one in every two Americans infected by novel coronavirus are from New York City which reported 5,085 new cases Monday taking the total to 20,875.
One hundred and 57 residents of New York, a city which has one of the highest concentrations of people in the country, have died of coronavirus so far. Of the total deaths in the city so far, 43 were reported Monday. Health officials warned that COVID-19-related casualty figures in New York are expected to jump significantly in the coming days.
White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Deborah L Birx told reporters that New York City, the New York Metro area of New Jersey and parts of Long Island have an attack rate close to one in 1,000. This is five times of what the other areas are seeing.
President Trump told reporters at a White House news conference that New York along with other hotspots such as Washington State and California is the top priority for his administration.
“Essential medical supplies and emergency equipment are being rushed to New York,” Trump said. He added that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is distributing eight million N-95 respirator masks and 13.3 million surgical masks across the country right now.
“Focusing on the areas with the greatest need, we have shipped 73 pallets of personal protective equipment to New York City and 36 pallets to the State of Washington. In the past 96 hours, FEMA has also received donations of approximately 6.5 million masks. We are focused on some of the hotspots,” Trump said.
Agencies
