LONDON
(AP) — The United States and Britain braced for one of their darkest
weeks in living memory on Monday as the social and financial toll of the
coronavirus pandemic deepened. Italy, Spain and France saw signs that
they are flattening the pandemic curve, but still reported hundreds of
people dying each day.
British
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was infected last month, was
hospitalized overnight in what his office described as a “precautionary
step,” after persistent symptoms. The 55-year-old Conservative leader,
who has had a fever for days, is the first known head of government to
fall ill with the disease.
He remained in charge of the government and was awaiting test results Monday.
“(I’m)
sure this is very frustrating for him ... (but) nonetheless he’s still
very much in charge,” Housing and Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick
told the BBC. Still, Jenrick did not rule out a more prolonged stay in
the hospital for Johnson.
Some
hard-hit European areas were seeing glimmers of hope — deaths and new
infections appeared to be slowing in Spain, Italy and France. Leaders
cautioned, however, that any gains could easily be reversed if people
did not continue to adhere to strict social distancing measures and
national lockdowns.
In Washington, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams offered a stark warning about the expected wave of deaths.
“This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment,” he told “Fox News Sunday.”
More
than 9,600 people have died of the virus in the United States, and it
leads the world in confirmed infections at more than 337,000.
In
New York City, the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic, daily confirmed
deaths dropped slightly, along with intensive care admissions and the
number of patients who needed breathing tubes inserted. But New York
Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned it was “too early to tell” the significance of
the new numbers.
U.S. President Donald Trump later suggested the hard weeks ahead could foretell the turning of a corner.
“We’re starting to see light at the end of the tunnel,” Trump claimed at an evening White House briefing.
Louisiana
health officials reported 68 coronavirus-related deaths, the state’s
biggest jump in reported deaths since the outbreak began.
Washington
Gov. Jay Inslee said his the state will return more than 400 of the 500
ventilators it has received from the federal government so they can go
to New York and other states hit harder by the pandemic.
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The
outlook was bleak in Britain, which reported more than 600 deaths
Sunday, surpassing Italy’s daily increase for the second day in a row.
Italy still has, by far, the world’s highest coronavirus death toll —
almost 16,000, but pressure on northern Italy’s intensive care units has
eased so much that the hardest-hit region of Lombardy is no longer
airlifting patients out to other regions.
In
a rare televised address, Queen Elizabeth II appealed to Britons to
rise to the occasion, while acknowledging enormous disruptions, grief
and financial difficulties they are facing. In the midst of the speech
Sunday night, Johnson was admitted to the hospital.
“I
hope in the years to come, everyone will be able to take pride in how
they responded to this challenge,” the 93-year-old monarch said. “And
those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation
were as strong as any.”
Worldwide,
more than 1.2 million people have been confirmed infected and nearly
70,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. The true
numbers are certainly much higher, due to limited testing, different
ways nations count the dead and deliberate under-reporting by some
governments.
The
virus is spread by microscopic droplets from coughs or sneezes. For
most people, the virus causes mild to moderate symptoms such as fever
and cough. But for some, especially older adults and those with existing
health problems, it can cause pneumonia and death. Over 263,000 people
have recovered worldwide.
In
Asia, Japanese officials were considered declaring a state of
emergency. Infections are soaring in the country that has the world’s
third-largest economy and its oldest population, but are still not even
among the top 25 hardest-hit nations in the world.
In
South Korea, which has been praised for its heavy testing to combat the
virus, vice health minister Kim Gang-lip expressed concerns over
loosened attitudes toward social distancing that he says is putting the
country at potential risk of an infection “explosion.”
South
Korea reported 47 new cases of the coronavirus, the smallest daily jump
since Feb. 20, but rising infections have been linked to international
arrivals as students and other South Korean nationals flock back from
the West.
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Hinnant reported from Paris. Associated Press writers around the world contributed to this report.
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Follow AP news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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