U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams told NBC, "I want America to understand this week, it's going to get bad," when speaking on social distancing practices and many people not abiding by the rules. "This is how the spread is occurring. So we really, really need everyone to stay at home. I think that there are a lot of people who are doing the right things, but I think that unfortunately we's finding out a lot of people think this can't happen to them."
Total Global Cases: More than 367,000
Total Deaths: At Least 16,000
Total Recovered: Over 101,000
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump tweeted an array of posts spreading conspiracy theories about possible treatments of the coronavirus, criticizing the World Health Organization's early coverage, and attacking the media for their coverage of the pandemic.
Trump's focus for the series of tweets can be summarized by this declaration: "WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF. AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!" Trump also retweeted remarks like, "15 day. Then we isolate the high risk groups and the rest of use get back to work before it's all over for everyone!! #Landslide2020," and, "Flatten the curve NOT the Economy."
The solution to containing the outbreak and healing the economy does not seem to be as simple as entering a short period of stay-at-home rules. Trump is suggesting that the federal guidance will conclude on March 31 and be reevaluated, and after evaluation the country will be able to resume normal movements again in April. However, the virus and the U.S. Surgeon General are suggesting that the United States does not know the full extent of the outbreak yet.
Hard to Track
According to a Bloomberg report, Iceland, who has tested a higher proportion of citizens compared to other countries, found that about half of those who tested positive for COVID-19 were asymptomatic at the time of their test. The report also found that as many as a third of those who tested positive in China remained asymptomatic or showed delayed symptoms, based on classified data from the Chinese government.
Scott Gottlieb, former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration tweeted earlier in March: "It's becoming clearer that the spread of COVID-19 by people who are asymptomatic of mildly symptomatic may be responsible for more transmission than previously thought; making control of the virus more difficult."
Economists led by Northwestern University's Martin Eichenbaum concluded that keeping social distancing measures in place before the number of new viruses cases decline could limit infections and prevent as many as 600,000 additional deaths in the United States.
In addition to the practice of social distancing, the virus may live on surfaces for a much longer period of time than previous reports concluded. The CDC stated on Monday that COVID-19 was able to survive for up to 17 days on the first Princess Cruise
Out of Supplies
The rate of testing due to the limited supply of test kits as led to more and more states within the United States asking the federal government for more assistance. Major leaders and healthcare workers across the United States issued a letter urging President Trump to use the Defense Production Act to help essential personal gain quick access to protective equipment.
The letter pleaded to the President: "Our nation's first responders call on you to address the shortage of essential personal protective equipment needed to keep them healthy and safe while on the job. If we lose emergency personal to the disease, we cannot transport people to hospitals and protect our citizens."
Economic Impact
Even when the economy will be able to function again, businesses will take more time than desired to return to pre-virus operation levels. According to a CNBC survey conducted by the CNBC Global CFO Council, CFOs report that it may take their businesses as much as 6 months to return to normal. The survey found that 40% of the companies surveyed reported that they have already have or expect to have supply chain issues that could take between 3 to 6 months to resolve with 25% of businesses saying six months. One-third of the companies surveyed reported that it is still to early to tell home long it would take for their businesses return to normal levels of production.
It seems that even though the Trump administration is taking some measures to help slow the spread of the virus, the virus may have already reached the point beyond containment in the United States. Even with the 15-day guidelines, Americans are still leaving their homes and spreading the virus, even if they are asymptomatic.
