The US coronavirus toll surpassed 500 on Monday as the total number of cases went past 41,000 and fifteen states went into various forms of lock-down.
The death toll from the virus in America is now 576, a sharp rise of more than 100 people in one day. Experts say the spike is yet to come and that the current state of crisis will last for another several month, at least.
President Trump is yet to mandate a national lock-down because the problem is worse in some states than in others.
Michigan, Massachusetts, Indiana, Oregon and West Virginia were the latest states to tell residents to stay at home and the city of Denver is urging its residents to.
Now, fifteen are under stay-at-home rules. New York and California were the first, along with Washington state.
New York is by far the worst affected state in the country, with more than 20,000 of the cases in the US occurring there. An astonishing 12,000 are in New York City.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the worst was yet to come and that we were currently in the ‘calm before the storm‘.
The states are now urging President Trump to enact the Defense Production Act to instruct private companies to manufacture the medical supplies and equipment that the country desperately needs.
He is resisting and is instead trying to make deals with the private sector which involves them putting together their own set of plans and commitments to address the crisis while still being able to thrive as independent enterprises.
The president has also suggested that he will re-assess the national rules – to stay inside as much as possible and wash your hands – in 15 days.
The Surgeon General has said already he does not believe it will ‘likely’ be enough.
In New York, Gov. Cuomo said the crisis could last another ‘several’ months. He is urging Americans to ‘settle in’ to the current state of quarantine and to get used to it.
On Monday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, closed all businesses that are ‘not necessary to sustain or protect life.’
