According to data on the Worldometers website , as of May 17 local time, the number of Covid-19 deaths in the US is 90,931, an increase of more than 800 cases compared to the previous day. The number of people infected with Covid-19 in the country also increased to nearly 1.53 million, an increase of more than 18,000 from the previous day.
The number of new cases and deaths caused by Covid-19 in the United States has tended to increase slowly compared to about 30,000 new cases and nearly 3,000 deaths per day at the peak of the epidemic. Against this backdrop, states in the US have begun to reopen to restore the economy hit hard by the pandemic.
Nearly all 50 US states have begun to reopen, but only 14 states follow federal government guidelines for the gradual removal of capital restrictions to prevent outbreaks, Reuters analysis shows.
Experts warn that the lifting of restrictive orders too soon and recklessly could lead to a second wave of infection. However, US Secretary of Health Alex Azar yesterday confirmed that officials in the country had not detected an increase in the number of new Covid-19 cases in the states that had reopened. "We are still keeping track of the localities that are starting to reopen, but do not detect an increase in the number of new cases. The number of new cases has only increased in some areas that are still closed," Mr. Azar said. However, Mr Azar stressed that it is too early to confirm anything because of the delay in updating the data from the states.
For her part, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned: "We do not know the true size of this challenge for the United States because we do not have enough tests." The United States is currently behind most developed countries in the capacity of the Covid-19 test, which is considered to be important in preventing the spread.
Mr. Trump and Obama "verbal"
Former US President Barack Obama in recent days has repeatedly criticized the current White House owner Donald Trump about how to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is rare for a former president to criticize his successor.
Speaking to students, students on May 16, Mr. Obama said: “Many responsible officials do not know what they are doing. There are even people who don’t even pretend to be responsible. ” He did not specify any official, but this statement of Obama is said to be aimed at the incumbent President Donald Trump. Earlier, Mr. Obama also criticized the current administration’s pandemic response as "utterly chaotic disaster".
In response to this criticism, Mr. Trump accused his predecessor of "completely incompetent" during office time. "Look, he was an incompetent president, that was all I could say. Completely incompetent," Mr. Trump said.
Recently, President Trump began posting a series of messages criticizing his predecessor. He used the term "Obamagate" several times with accusations that his predecessor had hindered him in his early leadership by using the FBI to "trap" his political advisors like the former National Security Advisor. in Michael Flynn. Mr. Trump said that it was Mr. Obama behind the investigation of Russia intervening in the US election and made Mr. Flynn plead guilty to perjury with the FBI.
In a recent commentary on May 17, Mr. Trump called for a 50-year "imprisonment" for Mr. Obama and former Deputy General Joe Biden - the current Democratic presidential candidate. The White House owner accused Mr Obama and Biden of involvement in what he called an FBI "witch hunt" against Mr Flynn.
