Page 17 - HOH

A6 U.S. NEWS
Saturday 21 March 2020
`Accept it': 3 states lock down 70 million against the virus

Associated Press Statue of Liberty in the U.S.
Illinois and New York state Governments are trying
joined California on Friday to balance locking down
in ordering all residents to residents with the need to
stay in their homes unless keep food, medicine and
they have vital reasons other essentials flowing.
to go out, restricting the In Britain, the category of
movement of more than vital workers includes doc-
70 million Americans in the tors, nurses and paramed-
most sweeping measures ics — and also vicars, truck-
undertaken yet in the U.S. ers, garbage collectors
to contain the coronavirus. and journalists. In New York,
The states' governors act- people venturing outside
ed in a bid to fend off the will have to stay at least 6
kind of onslaught that has feet apart. And while they
caused the health system will be free to get some ex-
in southern Europe to buck- ercise to keep their sanity,
le. The lockdowns encom- there will be no "playing
pass the three biggest cities basketball with five other
in America — New York, Los people," Cuomo said.
Angeles and Chicago — as "These provisions will be en-
well as No. 8 San Diego and forced," the governor said.
No. 14 San Francisco. Two pairs of hikers maintain distance as they mingle at Vista View Point in Griffith Park, Friday, "These are not helpful hints."
"No, this is not life as usual," March 20, 2020, in Los Angeles. In Bergamo, the epicen-
New York Gov. Andrew Associated Press ter of the Italian outbreak,
Cuomo said as the death cemeteries were over-
toll in the U.S. topped 200, 11,000, with the virus gain- cials told medical providers determine how long this cri- whelmed. Patients at the
with at least 35 in his state. ing footholds in new corners to stop testing patients for sis lasts." city's main hospital lined up
"Accept it and realize it of the world. Over a quar- the virus, except for people The streets of America's cit- in a narrow ward, struggling
and deal with it." ter-million people world- sick enough to require hos- ies were quieter than nor- for breath as doctors and
Cuomo said that starting wide have been infected, pitalization, saying testing is mal, even in many commu- nurses moved swiftly from
Sunday, all workers in non- according to a count kept exhausting supplies of pro- nities not under lockdown. one beeping machine to
essential businesses must by Johns Hopkins University, tective equipment. In New York, Edjo Wheeler the next.
stay home as much as though close to 90,000 of As promised earlier in the said he knew two people "When the virus arrived
possible, and gatherings them have recovered. week, President Donald very sick with flu-like symp- here, there was no con-
of any size will be banned Italy, the hardest-hit coun- Trump officially invoked toms, which can indicate tainment, and it spread
in the state of over 19 mil- try in Europe, reported 627 emergency wartime au- the coronavirus. through the valleys very
lion people. California like- new deaths, its biggest thority to try to speed pro- "That makes me walk quickly. ... Some said it was
wise all but confined its 40 day-to-day rise since the duction of such equipment. around with my hands in the normal flu. We doc-
million residents on Friday, outbreak began, and said Countries frantically pre- my pocket to make sure tors knew it was not," said
and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker new cases also shot up. Ita- pared for a deluge of pa- I'm not touching things,' Dr. Luca Lorini, head of in-
announced a similar order ly now has seen over 4,000 tients in the coming weeks. said Wheeler, 49, who runs tensive care at the hospi-
set to take effect on Satur- deaths — more even than In Britain, the government a nonprofit art center. He tal, where nearly 500 beds
day for the state's 12.6 mil- China — and 47,000 infec- asked 65,000 retired nurses added: "If everyone doesn't were dedicated to people
lion people. The governor tions. The soaring numbers and doctors to return to cooperate, it's not going to suffering severe symptoms.
of Connecticut, New York's came despite a nation- work. A convention center be effective." Eighty patients were in in-
neighboring state, said he wide lockdown. and hotels in Madrid were At the Paramount Drive-in tensive care.
also was poised to issue a The World Health Organi- being turned into field near Los Angeles, Forrest While the illness is mild in
comparable directive. zation highlighted the epi- hospitals for nearly 10,000 and Erin McBride figured a most people, the elderly
Exceptions were made for demic's dramatic speed, patients. France's military drive-in movie was one of are particularly susceptible
essential jobs and errands, noting it took more than worked to build a makeshift the few ways they could to serious symptoms. Italy
such as buying groceries three months to reach the medical center in the hard- responsibly celebrate their has the world's second-
and medicine, as well as first 100,000 confirmed cas- hit town of Mulhouse. The anniversary. oldest population, and the
for exercise. es but only 12 days to reach U.S. readied military hospi- "We were like, what can we vast majority of its dead —
The lockdowns sent an- the next 100,000. Among tals for civilian use. do? Everything's closed," 87% — were over 70.
other shudder through the those infected was a mem- Trump also announced the Forrest said before a show- Still, even younger people
markets, where many fear ber of Vice President Mike closing of the Mexican bor- ing of "Onward." "We were are at risk.
a recession is a near cer- Pence's staff. The White der to most travel but not like, 'Well, a drive-in theater "You're not invincible,"
tainty. Stocks tumbled on House said that staffer did trade. That brings it in line is kind of like a self-quaran- WHO chief Tedros Adha-
Wall Street, closing out their not appear to have "close with the restrictions on the tined movie date.'" nom Ghebreyesus warned
worst week since the 2008 contact" with either Pence Canadian border earlier The virus has struck at the them. He noted that many
financial crisis. The Dow or Trump. this week. The federal gov- very identities of many countries are reporting that
Jones Industrial Average Across the U.S., where the ernment also moved the countries: closing down people under 50 make up
fell more than 900 points, number of infected topped income tax filing deadline cafes, restaurants and bou- a "significant proportion" of
ending the week with a 17,000, governors and pub- from April 15 to July 15. levard life in France, end- patients needing to be hos-
17% loss. lic health officials watched "We're about to enter into ing la dolce vita in Italy, pitalized.
The increasingly drastic the crisis in Europe with a new way of living here shutting down England's Some of the only good
measures in the U.S. came mounting alarm and in Los Angeles," Mayor Eric pubs and the ceremonial news came from Wuhan,
as gasping patients filled warned of critical shortag- Garcetti said as California changing of the guard at the Chinese city where
the wards of hospitals in es of ventilators, masks and went into lockdown. "What Buckingham Palace, dam- the outbreak began and
Spain and Italy, and the other gear at home. we do and how we do it aging sales of tulips from where hospitals were strug-
global death toll surpassed In New York City, health offi- and if we get this right will Holland and shuttering the gling just weeks ago.q