MINNEAPOLIS — The coronavirus pandemic’s toll increased Saturday in the U.S. and in Europe, producing more cases in New York and Italy and setting off a scramble to set up thousands of additional hospital beds.
Italy, at the heart of Europe’s outbreak, announced 793 new deaths and 6,557 new cases Saturday — its biggest daily increase yet. In New York, state officials sought out much-needed medical supplies and hospital beds as confirmed coronavirus cases grew to more than 10,000 statewide, with 56 deaths.
“Everything that can be done is being done,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, adding, “We are literally scouring the globe looking for medical supplies.”
Across the world, squares and highways in major cities were deserted as curfews and lockdowns multiplied to try to stop the spread of covid-19. In the U.S., New Jersey and St. Louis were added to a growing list of areas where residents were ordered to stay home.
[CORONAVIRUS: Click here for our complete coverage » arkansasonline.com/coronavirus]
Health care workers from Oklahoma City to Minneapolis sought donations of protective equipment. The staff at a Detroit hospital began creating homemade face masks for workers. Even rural hospitals were strained.
“There’s definitely this underlying fear in the community. You can see it,” said Dr. Robert Wagner, an emergency room doctor in the farming community of Vidalia, Ga., which has not yet seen a confirmed case of the virus.
In Washington, negotiators from Congress and the White House resumed top-level talks on a $1 trillion-plus economic rescue package, urged by President Donald Trump to strike a deal to steady a nation upended by the pandemic.
In Nebraska, 81 counties are without intensive-care beds, and 28 of the most rural counties have no hospitals at all. In western Minnesota, three counties are exploring converting part of a former prison into a center to care for coronavirus patients.
[Video not showing up above? Click here to watch » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUxznFVlBZs]
The shortage of medical equipment and protective gear was a concern in big cities, too. Supplies — including protective gear, respirators and hand sanitizer — were dwindling.
New Hampshire’s largest hospital, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, encouraged volunteers to sew face masks for patients, visitors and staff members so medical-grade protective equipment could be conserved for health care workers. Integris Health in Oklahoma was asking the public to donate masks, hand sanitizers, disposable gloves and other supplies.
“On a national and global basis, the key supplies are in very short supply,” said Jim O’Connor, vice president of Supply Chain Management for Henry Ford Health System in the Detroit area. “We’re all struggling to obtain supplies at the level we would like. We are currently providing our supplies as required.”
For most people, the virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover.
Gallery: Coronavirus scenes, 3-21-2020
[Gallery not loading above? Click here for more photos » arkansasonline.com/322covid/]
GLOBAL CRISIS
More than 300,000 cases have been confirmed globally, including more than 13,000 deaths, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. More than 91,676 people have recovered from the virus.
The United States has seen nearly 300 deaths so far and about 25,000 cases, according to Johns Hopkins. Italy, which has Europe’s largest outbreak, now has at least 4,825 dead.
Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza called for a “great alliance” between citizens and institutions, saying “what counts more is the behavior of every individual.” Giuseppe Sala, mayor of Milan, capital of the hardest-stricken region of Lombardy, tried to rally the city’s 1.4 million residents, tweeting that “by now, we have understood, this is a marathon, not a sprint.”
Spain now has the third-highest number of infections worldwide. On Saturday it reported a total of nearly 25,000 cases, including 1,326 deaths. Spanish health authorities have acknowledged that some intensive care units in the hardest-hit areas are close to their limit. The army was building a field hospital with 5,500 beds in a convention center in Madrid, where hotels are also being turned into wards for virus patients who don’t have serious breathing problems.
Dr. Olga Mediano, who treated victims of a 2004 jihadist bomb attack in Madrid that killed nearly 200 people and wounded many times more, said nothing prepared her for the national health tragedy that Spain is now enduring.
“I have been through many situations,” she said from the central city of Guadalajara. “But nothing is like this.”
“If we keep seeing daily increases of 23%, this cannot be withstood much longer,” Mediano said. “We are doubling up on our shifts. We have strategies to hang in there this week, but beyond that we need the situation to improve because we professionals are bearing a lot of pressure, including emotional.”
In Germany’s southern state of Bavaria, town squares were empty. Pigeons outnumbered people in London’s usually bustling Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square a day after the British government ordered the closure of all bars, restaurants, movie theaters and other places where people congregate.
But shoppers still flocked to street markets in both countries, in a sign that restrictions were being interpreted in a patchwork fashion.
The number of confirmed cases of covid-19 recorded in Africa rose above 1,100 Saturday, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least 40 of Africa’s 54 countries now have cases.
Britain still lags behind Italy, Spain and France in the spread of the virus, but the country’s overstretched health system is creaking. Britain, which has recorded 3,983 confirmed cases of covid-19 and 177 deaths, has already asked 65,000 retired nurses and doctors to return to work.
Workers near Moscow are rushing to build a clinic to treat hundreds of coronavirus patients as Russia prepares for a wave of infections. Placards in the style of Soviet propaganda posters have been erected near the site, with one showing Mayor Sergei Sobyanin pointing at the viewer and the slogan “Builders — Minutes count!”
MIDEAST, AFRICA
In the Mideast, Iran’s death toll is up to 1,556 amid 20,610 confirmed cases, according to figures released by the Health Ministry. Iran has faced widespread criticism for its lagging response to the outbreak, which has even infected and killed some senior officials.
In one of the strictest measures in the Mideast yet, Jordan has ordered all shops to close and all people to stay off the streets until at least Tuesday, when it plans to announce specific times for shopping.
Authorities have already arrested 392 people accused of violating the curfew, said Amer Sartawi, a spokesman for the Public Security Directorate. He warned that anyone violating the orders would face legal action.
Jordan has reported 85 infections, including one person who recovered. Qatar has reported 460 cases, including 10 who have recovered.
Several countries in the Middle East have closed schools, universities and nonessential businesses. Many are threatening fines or jail time for those caught violating the decrees.
In the West Bank, Palestinian security forces arrested 20 Muslim preachers on charges of violating a ban on holding Friday prayers, the Voice of Palestine reported.
The Palestinian Authority has reported 52 confirmed cases, including 17 who have recovered.
Israel reported another 178 infections, bringing its total to 883, the second-highest number in the region behind Iran.
Iraq has reported 193 cases and 14 deaths.
Egypt announced that all museums and archaeological sites, including the pyramids at Giza, would be closed from Monday until the end of March.
Egypt also announced the temporary suspension of Friday prayers and other congregations in all mosques. The Coptic Orthodox Church canceled all services and wedding parties, and said funeral processions would be limited to family members of the deceased.
Egypt has reported 294 cases and 10 deaths, and there are increasing calls for a curfew.
In the United Arab Emirates, the country’s National Media Council announced a temporary ban on “the distribution of all print newspapers, magazines and marketing material” beginning Tuesday, saying it was a measure to stop the spread of the virus. It said subscribers and shopping center outlets would be exempt.
In Africa, lockdowns have begun.
Nigeria on Saturday announced that it is closing airports to all incoming international flights for one month in the continent’s most populous country. The move followed its first reported cases in the capital, Abuja.
Rwanda said all movements outside the home are banned for two weeks as of midnight Saturday except for essential services such as health care and shopping. The East African nation, which has 17 cases, told all public and private employees to work from home. Tunisia earlier imposed a lockdown, as well.
Uganda, Eritrea and Angola announced their first cases, meaning 42 of Africa’s 54 countries are now affected. Congo and Ghana each reported their first deaths; Burkina Faso reported two new deaths. Uganda is closing its borders to all but cargo.
Ethiopia said all arriving passengers will face mandatory quarantine as of Monday. Republic of Congo and Ghana are closing their borders. But Somalia is lifting its ban on international flights for two days so stranded citizens can return home.
Burkina Faso now has the most virus deaths of any country in sub-Saharan Africa and the most cases in West Africa with 64.
RULES TIGHTEN
Back in the U.S., restrictions on movement were scheduled to take effect Saturday in Illinois and New Jersey and today in New York. All workers in nonessential businesses will be required to stay home, and gatherings of any size are banned in New York. Exceptions will be made for errands such as buying groceries and medicine and for exercise.
There are more than 11,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 60 deaths in New York, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The state is trying to source 2 million masks from suppliers around the globe and buying 6,000 new ventilators. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been asked to supply the state with four field hospitals, each with a capacity for 250 patients.
The goal is to boost the state’s hospital capacity from about 50,000 beds to 75,000, Cuomo said at a news briefing. The state has already hospitalized 1,600 people. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has declared a major disaster in the state, providing access to billions of dollars in relief funding.
The state also will immediately conduct trials of an experimental covid-19 treatment with hydroxychloroquine and Zithromax, Cuomo said.
Hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug, has been touted by Trump as a possible answer-in-waiting to the outbreak, though many experts caution that more testing needs to be done.
Cuomo said the Food and Drug Administration is sending 10,000 doses to the state.
The governor warned younger people to heed warnings and practice social distancing, saying the 18-49 age group accounts for 54% of infections.
“You’re not superman, and you’re not superwoman,” Cuomo said.
“You can get this virus and you can transfer the virus. You can wind up hurting someone who you love or hurting someone wholly inadvertently. Social distancing works, and you need social distancing everywhere,” he said.
Information for the article was contributed by Amy Forliti, Frances D’Emilio, Joseph Wilson, Frank Jordans, Russ Bynum, Michael Hill, Michael R. Sisak, Bashir Adigun, Sam Mednick, Cara Anna, Omar Akour, Nasser Karimi, Joseph Krauss, Mohammed Daraghmeh, Samy Magdy, Sarah El Deeb, Samya Kullab, Jon Gambrell, Francis Kokutse, Rodney Muhumuza, Farai Mutsaka, Abdi Guled and Idi Ali Juma of The Associated Press; and by Christian Berthelsen of Bloomberg News.
Wall Street in front of the flag-draped New York Stock Exchange is mostly deserted Saturday. The usually bustling downtown area of New York City was eerily quiet after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s orders Friday that severely restrict gatherings and require workers in nonessential businesses to stay home. More photos at arkansasonline.com/322covid/.
(AP/John Minchillo)
A Section on 03/22/2020
