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US cautiously optimistic as coronavirus curve appears to flatten

AFP
Washington, United StatesUpdated: Apr 10, 2020, 08:04 AM IST
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Photograph:(Reuters)

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With unemployment skyrocketing and the economy tanking, President Donald Trump is keen to lift social confinement measures and get the United States open for business again as soon as possible.

US health officials made cautiously optimistic noises about coronavirus despite high death tolls Thursday, suggesting Americans might be able to take summer holidays, as falling hospitalization rates hint at a turning point in the battle against COVID-19.

With unemployment skyrocketing and the economy tanking, President Donald Trump is keen to lift social confinement measures and get the United States open for business again as soon as possible.

Trump's top pandemic advisor Anthony Fauci warned America cannot be reopened overnight due to the threat of further waves of infections,but said it could be up and running again by the summer months.

That is, he said, providing citizens adhere to social distancing guidelines and widespread stay-at-home orders, which have the vast majority of Americans on lockdown, throughout April. 

Nationwide, the US recorded 1,783 death over the past 24 hours, down by 190 from Wednesday's record-breaking toll.

The country has suffered more than 16,500 virus-related fatalities -- the second-highest number in the world after Italy. And it has emerged as the country with the most coronavirus cases, at more than 460,000.

When asked by "CBS This Morning" whether he could envision a summer of vacations, baseball games, weddings and family get-togethers, infectious disease expert Fauci replied, "It can be in the cards."

His comments came as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo struck a similar tone of cautious optimism despite the state reporting a record single-day death toll for the third time this week Thursday.

New York is bearing the brunt of the United States' deadly coronavirus pandemic, accounting for around half the number of deaths across the country.

Cuomo said COVID-19 had claimed the lives of 799 New Yorkers in the past 24 hours, bringing the state's death toll to more than 7,000 and outdoing the previous high of 779 announced on Wednesday.

He added though that the curve was flattening because of social distancing orders. 

New York is bearing the brunt of the United States' deadly coronavirus pandemic, accounting for around half the number of deaths