Story at a glance
- Health officials warn this week will be the “hardest and saddest week of most Americans’ lives.”
- More than 10,000 have died in the U.S., including 4,758 in New York.
- A watchdog report warned of severe and widespread shortages of personal protective equipment, ventilators, testing supplies and staff.
The United States kicked off the “hardest and the saddest” week yet of the coronavirus outbreak Monday as COVID-19 deaths in the nation have surpassed 10,000, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
The U.S. death toll is closing in on Italy and Spain, which have seen more than 16,500 and 13,000 deaths, respectively. The U.S. leads the world in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases, with more than 340,000.
“It’s going to be the peak hospitalization, peak ICU week and unfortunately, peak death week,” Admiral Brett Giroir, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” Monday. Giroir went on to urge Americans to continue adhering to social distancing guidelines to curb the spread of the outbreak.
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Health officials have warned that the peak of the coronavirus outbreak nationwide is expected in mid-April.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Monday 4,758 people have died in the state from coronavirus so far. Though nearly 600 people were reported dead in New York Monday, the state’s second-highest one-day death toll, Cuomo did say there were continuing signs the virus is starting to slow as new hospitalizations and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions are all down.
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Meanwhile, a watchdog report was released Monday warning of “severe” hospital shortages. Hospitals across the country are reporting shortages of tests, ventilators and protective equipment in the fight against the virus and are raising concerns about being able to keep health workers safe, according to a report from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) inspector general.
The report said “inconsistent guidance from federal, state, and local authorities,” posed challenges and confused hospitals and the public.
On Sunday, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned the week ahead would be the “hardest and the saddest” of “most Americans’ lives.”
“This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment, only it’s not going to be localized; it’s going to be happening all over the country,” Adams said Sunday on “Fox News Sunday.”
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