Americans urged to wear masks outside as coronavirus pandemic worsens

[snoop1130]

Americans urged to wear masks outside as coronavirus pandemic worsens

By Steve Holland, Gabriella Borter

 

A Hospital worker distributes Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to people waiting in line to be tested for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outside Elmhurst Hospital Center in the Borough of Queens in New York City, New York, U.S., April 2, 2020. REUTERS/Stefan Jeremiah

 

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Thursday looked set to join local officials in advising Americans to wear masks when venturing out during the still-exploding coronavirus pandemic, as the U.S. death toll rose by 1,000 in a single day for the first time.

 

Speaking at a White House briefing, Deborah Birx, a member of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force, said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would in the coming days add a recommendation on masks to guidelines on protective measures.

 

But Birx said Americans, almost all of whom have been told to stay at home except for essential outings, should not develop a “false sense of security” that they are fully protected from the respiratory illness by covering their faces.

 

Trump, answering questions from reporters at the briefing, said only “if people want to wear them, they can.”

 

As of Thursday evening the U.S. death toll from COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, stood at 5,887, with more than 243,000 cases across all 50 states.

 

Global cases surpassed 1 million on Thursday with more than 52,000 deaths, according to a Reuters tally based on country-by-country data.

 

White House medical experts have forecast that between 100,000 to 240,000 Americans could be killed, even if the sweeping lock-down orders are followed.

 

The Trump administration, CDC and public health officials have all wavered on the issue of face masks since the pandemic broke out, initially telling healthy people such measures were unnecessary or even counter-productive.

 

NOWHERE TO PUT THE DEAD

 

The mayors of New York City and Los Angeles both urged residents to cover their faces. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio cited studies showing the virus can be transmitted by infected people who are showing no symptoms.

 

“What that means is when you put on that face covering you’re protecting everyone else,” de Blasio said.

 

The Democratic mayor suggested New Yorkers use scarves or other home-made masks because medical-grade protective gear was in short supply.

 

An emergency stockpile of medical equipment maintained by the U.S. government has nearly run out of protective garb for doctors and nurses.

 

In New York City, where at least 1,400 people have been killed by the virus, hospitals and morgues struggled to treat the desperately ill and bury the dead.

 

Funeral homes and cemetery directors described a surge in demand not seen in decades as cases surpassed 50,000 in the city.

 

Crematories extended their hours and burned bodies into the night, with corpses piling up so quickly that city officials were looking elsewhere in the state for temporary interment sites.

 

“We’ve been preparing for a worst-case scenario, which is in a lot of ways starting to materialize,” said Mike Lanotte, director of the New York State Funeral Directors Association.

 

At Brooklyn’s Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, staff were seen disposing of gowns, caps and other protective gear in a sidewalk trash can on Thursday after loading bodies into a refrigerated truck.

 

Reuters was unable to confirm whether the bodies were those of coronavirus victims and hospital administrators could not be reached for comment. Operator Beatrice Pereira said, “They said that there’s no one available right now, that everyone here is busy saving lives.”

 

CARRIER CAPTAIN REMOVED

 

The U.S. Navy relieved the commander of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt after he wrote a scathing letter appealing for help to control a coronavirus outbreak onboard, U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday.

 

Asked about the captain during a news conference at the White House, Trump said he did not agree with the suggestion that it appeared the commander was being removed for trying to save the lives of sailors.

 

“I don’t agree with that at all. Not at all. Not even a little bit,” Trump said.

 

With an estimated 90% of Americans under unprecedented orders to remain at home, the U.S. government reported that a record 6.6 million workers had filed for jobless benefits last week, double the previous all-time high set a week earlier.

 

The Walt Disney Company (DIS.N) said it would start furloughs of non-essential U.S. employees across the company on April 19. It did not say how many would be affected.

 

In Florida, two Holland America cruise ships with dozens of sick coronavirus patients aboard docked at a port near Fort Lauderdale, resolving a days-long impasse.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-04-03

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[bkk6060]

Good luck.

It is not like Asia where masks are normally readily available and used for various reasons.

I bet there are very few places to buy a mask with minimal stock.

 

[Tayaout]

Oh! Now they are not useless anymore? 

[Puchaiyank]

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has been very impressive in doing all he can to supply hospitals and healthcare workers with much needed protective equipment and supplies.

 

Makeshift hospital beds and a US Navy hospital ship to help the masses of sick people.

 

He comes across as the right person to stand strong facing an impossible task...

[Tug]

Duhhhh I’m glad that when I saw China tightening up their fight against the virus I reacted to protect my family ignoring what was coming out of the White House use your common sense stay safe good luck and good health 

[RubbaJohnny]

16 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Good luck.

It is not like Asia where masks are normally readily available and used for various reasons.

I bet there are very few places to buy a mask with minimal stock.

 

Home Depot is everywhere although stocks surely depleted.

I think sooner than deplete supply of masks for health workers and first responders just a gag on Trump and leave announcements on public helath to Drs and those prepared to listen to unpopular factual detail.

[Russell17au]

What a joke after the American experts from US Centers of Disease Controls and Prevention claimed that masks did not work. Well start cleaning the egg of your face you idiots. If you had not made such a stupid claim I believe that the spread of this virus would have been slowed. If everyone had of been made to wear masks from when this first started I believe that it would not have spread as quick as it has and that would have given all the medical scientist around the world more time to try and find something that would defeat this virus. If everyone had worn masks from the start then it would have slowed things down. If a virus carrier was wearing a mask then when they sneezed or coughed the virus would have been contained in their mask plus if a non carrier was wearing a mask then that is also a barrier for the virus to try and penetrate which means that if everybody had worn masks then there would have been a double barrier to slow the spread of this virus but when organizations like the CDC and the WHO say that mask do not work everyone believes everything they say and now it is showing that they did not know what they were talking about. Egg on the face CDC and WHO

[simple1]

10 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

If everyone had worn masks from the start then it would have slowed things down.

Were not available in sufficient quantities even today challenging to acquire. Also knowledge has been evolving e.g. it wasn't known until recently carriers of Covid could present zero symptoms.

[Opl]

1 hour ago, simple1 said:

Were not available in sufficient quantities even today challenging to acquire. Also knowledge has been evolving e.g. it wasn't known until recently carriers of Covid could present zero symptoms.

It was suspected since at least early february that asymptomatic infected persons could be super spreaders, it's common knowledge, reported and repeated in the news all over the world.

That the state of Georgia governor Kemp confessed his ignorance on the topic making the head lines since months , is just a poor excuse, but the example comes from the top.   

Edited April 4, 2020 by Opl

[sandyf]

1 hour ago, simple1 said:

e.g. it wasn't known until recently carriers of Covid could present zero symptoms.

It was known several weeks ago but some did not want to take notice and will pay the price.

" as the U.S. death toll rose by 1,000 in a single day for the first time."

 

Same with the UK

Another 684 people have died in the UK after contracting coronavirus - bringing the total number of deaths to 3,605.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-684-more-covid-19-deaths-in-uk-bringing-total-to-3-605-11967903

 

THAILAND SITUATION total and new cases reported in the last 24 hours 1,978 confirmed (103 new) 19 deaths (3 new) 1,378 people hospitalized 32 Healthcare staff (5 new) 23 severe cases 19 deaths (4 new) 581 recovered

https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/searo/thailand/2020-04-3-tha-sitrep-41-covid19-final.pdf?sfvrsn=9e14aebc_0

[gk10002000]

all of a sudden people think wearing a mask is a new thing and never been done throughout history?

[simple1]

1 hour ago, Opl said:

It was suspected since at least early february that asymptomatic infected persons could be super spreaders, it's common knowledge, reported and repeated in the news all over the world.

That the state of Georgia governor Kemp confessed his ignorance on the topic making the head lines since months , is just a poor excuse, but the example comes from the top.   

OK. Had read somewhere official confirmation was only recent.

Edited April 4, 2020 by simple1

[metisdead]

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