Some of the hardest-hit states in the U.S. are starting to see a slight decline in new CoVID-19 cases but there has also been some tensions between the White House and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Trump Blasts WHO
During his Tuesday briefing, U.S. President Donald Trump said the WHO got "every aspect" of the novel coronavirus wrong. According to CNBC, Trump also threatened to withhold funding as he blamed the organization for its alleged wrong alarms about the pandemic.
Following the WHO declaration of the COVID-19 outbreak as a global health emergency in January, director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged countries to not make any rash decisions that "unnecessarily interfere with international trade or travel."
It remains to be seen whether the WHO will respond to Trump's latest statements. The U.S. has registered at least 396,223 coronavirus cases.
California Prisons See Hike in Infections
Trump's comments came amid the ongoing coronavirus situation in the U.S. wherein prisons across California have started seeing a spike in positive tests among not just inmates but also prison staff, CNN reported.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said on Tuesday in a media briefing that this week, there are now eighteen inmates across the state who tested CoVID-19 positive. The said figure is a stark spike from last week's four infections.
Furthermore, the number of correction officers who contracted the disease has already risen to 62 after 40 new infections were detected in the state.
California is the fourth hardest-hit state in the U.S. As of Tuesday, the state registered at least 17,351 confirmed CoVID-19 cases and at least 440 deaths.
Michigan Expecting Peak Possibly Later This Week
Health specialists in Michigan are reportedly expecting the state to reach its peak in the coronavirus crisis to probably come around sometime later this week, local news provider the Bridge Magazine reported.
The projections came after the death toll in the Metro Detroit area hit 222 and the total cases in the said area reached 5,476 as of Tuesday. Oakland County follows behind with at least 3,736 confirmed CoVID-19 cases and at least 205 deaths.
Being the third hardest-hit state in the U.S., Michigan registered at least 18,970 confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 845 deaths.
New Jersey Reports Over 3,000 New Cases
On Tuesday, New Jersey officials confirmed 3,361 new CoVID-19 cases and 232 deaths, nj.com reported.
Gov. Phil Murphy said during his Tuesday briefing that the government grieves and honors the legacies of the citizens who succumbed to the novel virus. "We need to continue doing all we can to slow the spread of the coronavirus," he said.
New Jersey has registered at least 44,416 confirmed CoVID-19 cases and 1,232 deaths. The state is the second-hardest hit in the entire country.
New York Reports Record-High Toll in CoVID-19 Deaths
New York on Tuesday recorded its highest single-day jump in coronavirus deaths with 731 people falling victim to the CoVID-19 strain, Business Insider reported.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in his Tuesday briefing that despite the significant jump in new coronavirus deaths, the number of people being admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) have dropped.
Cuomo noted that the decline in ICU admissions is an indication that social distancing measures implemented by the government are somehow working.
The state accounts for around half of all the CoVID-19 deaths in the United States, with 5,489 as of Tuesday. The state has so far registered a total of 138,836 people who tested positive of the strain.
Over 1,200 New CoVID-19 Cases in Canada
Canada reported 1,230 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the country's total to 17,883, Global News Canada reported.
There were also 58 new deaths in the country, bringing the total death toll to 381. The news came after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that 30,000 ventilators were being produced for CoVID-19 patients in the country.
Of the confirmed cases in Canada, 4,050 have since recovered. A total of 352,564 tests have also been carried out in the country, as part of the government's efforts in early detection and mass testing.
