The number of coronavirus-related deaths in the United States doubled in just over two days to more than 2,000 on Saturday as the number of confirmed cases in the country surpassed every country globally.
New York remains to be the epicenter of the outbreak in the country, with a devastating death toll of more than 700 and 50,000 confirmed cases. However, despite the rising number of deaths and cases, US president Donald Trump still believes that a quarantine on the region is unnecessary.
Trump spent most of the day teasing about a possible travel ban on the New York metro, which confounded public and local officials who clueless about the suggestion.
A few hours later, Trump took it to twitter to inform the public that a quarantine is not at all necessary, but instead the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is to issue a "strong travel advisory" for the tri-state area. Details about said travel advisory is yet to be available
On the recommendation of the White House CoronaVirus Task Force, and upon consultation with the Governor’s of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, I have asked the @CDCgov to issue a strong Travel Advisory, to be administered by the Governors, in consultation with the.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2020
By Saturday, the number of cases in the US has reached 116,000 surpassing every country in the world, including China, the country where the disease first emerged. Almost a month after the first COVID-19 death was reported in the US last February 29, the US COVID-19 death toll has surpassed the 1,000-mark and even worsened as it doubled in just two days reaching more than 2,000 by March 28, 2020.
These numbers prompted Trump to suggest early on Saturday that a mandatory quarantine may be due on the parts of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut which received the hardest hit of the virus in the country.
In his earlier statement, Trump said that there are people who want to see New York be quarantined since it is a hot spot for the disease. The president also added that if the quarantine is indeed imposed it would only be short term, or just for two weeks.
Trump's statement was then followed by another statement from the chief of staff at the White House, Mark Meadows who told reporters that they are still evaluating precautions at the moment.
New York Governor called idea of NY quarantine "preposterous."
Meanwhile, New York Governor Andrew Coumo referred to Trump's idea as "preposterous" and said that it is not different from imprisonment and viewed it as a "declaration of war."
Cuomo also noted that he did not think the idea was plausible or legal, stressing that it would cause total mayhem. He further added that he was baffled on why someone would create a total pandemonium amid the pandemic.
Moreover, Cuomo noted that considering the continued rise of COVID-19 in other states, the move would be a slippery slope.
But by the end of the day, Trump took back his word and retracted his earlier statement through Twitter.
Earlier this week, the coronavirus task force from the White House already advised people who were traveling from New York to take initiative and self-isolate upon arriving in their new location for 14 days.
Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci has also warned on Tuesday that the rate of infection in the Big Apple is already 10 times higher compared to other areas.
The number of cases in the world has now reached 650,000 based on the tracker by John Hopkins University.
