There have been some positive signs that the coronavirus may be coming under control in some parts of the world came to light on Wednesday, but the pandemic is far from over.
"It's going to be a bad week for deaths," Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and White House Health Advisor told Fox News on Wednesday. Fauci stated that death rates usually lag behind other aspects like new cases and hospitalizations, both of which are, "beginning to turnaround."
Despite the new case and hospitalization rates declining in the United States, all of the world has a long way to go before the coronavirus pandemic stops being a major issue. The state of New York now has more confirmed cases than any country in the world aside from the United States. Italy has reported a renewed accelerating to cases, even as the country's death count falls.
"I don't think we return to normal," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said, remarking on the states high case and death count. "I don't think we return to yesterday. I think we return to a new normal."
Total Global Cases: Over 1.5 million
Total Deaths: At Least 88,000
Total Recovered: At Least 329,000
Flattening the Curve
New data from Johns Hopkins University shows graphically the impact that business closures and social distancing measures is having on the rate of new infections across the United States. However, governors in several states that display positive signs that the curve may be flattening are continuing their restriction measures, urging their residents to continue to keep up the practices that may be working.
"If we stop what we are doing, you will see that curve change," Governor Cuomo stated during a press conference on Wednesday.
Although the research data shows that the rate of infection is slowing in several states like New Jersey, Louisiana, Maine, Ohio, Maryland, California and Washington, other states like Kentucky, Delaware and West Virginia has seen uptick in their rates.
Politics
In a retort to the criticism President Donald Trump gave to the World Health Organization over their early response to the coronavirus pandemic, Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated: "We want to learn from our mistakes, for now, the focus should be on fighting the virus. Please don't politicize this virus. If you want to be exploited and you want to have many more body bag, then you do it. It you don't want many more body bags, then you refrain from politicizing it."
Many critics, along with Trump, say that the World Health Organization sides too often with the Chinese government and is unfair to other member countries. Many have also faulted the organization for not acting fast enough to declare COVID-19 a global emergency.
Infection Tracking
Pinterest (NYSE: PINS) CEO Ben Silbermann is partnering with health experts to launch a new app that will allow American to self-report their health symptoms, healthy or not. Called the "How We Feel" app, users will be able to self report their demographic information as well as any health symptoms they may be experiencing. The apps goal is to bridge the gap in COVID-19 tracking information in order to predict future outbreaks and monitor the ongoing spread of the virus.
Second Quarter Worries
According to a forecast by the International Labor Organization, the coronavirus pandemic is expected to erase 6.7% of working hours globally in 2020's second quarter. The United Nation's labor agency said that that percentage equals 195 million full-time workers with a standard 48 hour work week from the global workforce. The agency further warned that the eventual increase in global unemployment for the year depended on how quickly national economies can recover and how effective labor boosting policies are.
For the United States, 1 in 4 Americans have either lost their job or received a pay cut due to the coronavirus, according to a CNBC All-American Economic Survey. However, many Americans surveyed were optimistic that the economy would be able to recover once the threat of the virus was over.