News From: washingtonpost April 3, 2020, at 7:55 p.m. GMT+5:30
With debate unfolding over the full scope of the coronavirus pandemic, Australia’s chief medical officer said Friday that the global caseload is probably five to 10 times higher than official figures indicate. Meanwhile, China warned of the risk of a resurgence in domestic infections. And the United States suffered a record one-day death toll Thursday as the country continued to grapple with the reality of a devastating economic downturn.
Here are some significant developments:
More than 1 million confirmed cases have been reported around the world, nearly a quarter of them in the United States.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) called Friday for a national enlistment of health-care workers organized by the U.S. military. Saying on CNN that Sunday was “D-Day” for medical personnel, inaction could lead to hundreds or thousands of unnecessary deaths, he argued.
The Communist Party chief of Wuhan, the Chinese city where the outbreak began, said that the risk of a resurgence there remains high and that authorities must maintain prevention and control measures.
The White House is expected to urge Americans to begin wearing cloth masks or face coverings in public, while President Trump said he signed the Defense Production Act to compel 3M to provide more N95 face masks for health-care workers.
Fewer than half of Americans approve of President Trump’s management of the coronavirus crisis, according to a new ABC News-Ipsos poll. Several earlier polls suggested a bump in approval of his performance. The past two weeks of turmoil have erased all job gains since Trump’s 2016 election.
