The United States has apparently gone on a different direction from January, when U.S. President Donald Trump insisted that the country was prepared for the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump Reverses Economy Reopening Statement
Trump said on Tuesday that he and Vice President Mike Pence were eyeing a phase out of the health-focused plan that should help the American economy reopen gradually. However, things changed dramatically in just 24 hours.
According to CNN, Trump announced on Wednesday that the task force working on the COVID-19 crisis will continue "indefinitely." His statement was taken as a reversal of his comments a day earlier regarding the phasing out of the U.S. coronavirus panel.
Furthermore, Trump revealed that the task force will now focus on finding a vaccine. People with knowledge of the matter further revealed that the president is mulling the potential appointment of a person specifically leading the panel on the country's vaccine quest.
As of Wednesday, the U.S. logged a total of 1,263,092 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 74,799 deaths.
De Blasio Admits NYC Has 'More Work to Do' amid Rising Hospitalization Rate
New York City on Tuesday saw a slight increase in people hospitalized across NYC public hospitals, prompting Mayor Bill de Blasio to admit on Wednesday that the spike in new hospitalizations "remind us we still have some work to do," the New York Post reported.
de Blasio went on to reiterate that there will still be fluctuations as the days pass but the focus should be on ensuring that social distancing rules are implemented. He added that the regulations should not be relaxed "until it's time."
For the city mayor, one of the main goals of the government should be to reduce the number of hospitalizations. On the other hand, the data on Tuesday revealed that new COVID-19 infections in the city have decreased to 15 percent from Monday's 22 percent.
New York registered a total of 321,192 confirmed coronavirus cases and 25,124 deaths as of Tuesday. It is the hardest-hit state in the country.
Murphy Announces Public Health Emergency Extension
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday declared the extension of the state's public health emergency by another 30 days, following the previous extension he ordered on April 7.
According to nj.com, the governor's office said that the executive order signed by Murphy on Wednesday will keep the public health emergency in place by up to June 5.
During his daily briefing, Murphy clarified that extending the order does not mean that the state will further tighten the existing movement restrictions set in place earlier in March. Instead, the extension means New Jersey will continue to be vigilant in its coronavirus battle, he explained.
The state is the second hardest-hit in the United States. As of Tuesday, it logged 130,593 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 8,244 deaths.
Over 600 New Deaths in Brazil
In Brazil, things haven't looked well over the past few days. The country logged 615 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, bringing the national death toll to 8,536, Reuters reported.
Aside from the new deaths, the government also registered 10,503 new COVID-19 infections. The country now has a total of 12,218 confirmed cases.
Amid the significant spike in new infections, Brazilian health minister Nelson Teich said in a press briefing on Wednesday that local governments may need to start implementing lockdowns as the coronavirus curve in the country has not started to flatten.
Government officials previously revealed that they are planning to ramp up COVID-19 testing in Brazil as part of the efforts to take down the virus.
Indigenous Community in Ecuador Fear Wipeout
Around dozens of people under the Siekopai nation, an indigenous community in Ecuador, fear that their tribe will be wiped out by COVID-19, prompting them to flee to the Amazon rainforest.
According to Al Jazeera, the group revealed that two elderly leaders of the tribe succumbed to the coronavirus in the last two weeks, further raising concerns about the impact of the virus on their tribe's longevity.
The Siekopai nation has around 744 members and the group said leaders already reached out to Ecuador's government for testing among its people but they have yet to receive a response. "In the past, we were victims of this type of disease and today, we don't want history to be repeated, community President Justino Piaguaje said in a meeting earlier this week.
Piaguaje went on to reveal that while some members of the Siekopai nation have fled to the Amazon, those who stayed in the community's territory have started resorting to homeopathic therapies.
As of Wednesday, Ecuador logged a total of 31,881 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,618 deaths.
