Expert: Covid-19 in the US will get worse 3
`Unfortunately, the US is in a period where the rate of people infected with nCoV is increasing exponentially,` Dr. Paul Offit, infectious disease expert, University of Pennsylvania, told VnExpress.
The US has recorded more than 83,000 infections and more than 1,200 deaths due to Covid-19, the largest epidemic region globally.
According to Offit, the situation in the US is not the same as in China, South Korea or Singapore, where the spread of nCoV was able to be stopped.
American people wear masks on the streets of New York, USA, March 4.
Explaining the reason why the epidemic developed so quickly in the US, Dr. Offit said that Washington’s delay in identifying Covid-19 `will become a problem`.
`I think America was unprepared. The epidemic is spreading out of control,` Offit said.
Professor Dean Jamison, in charge of the Disease Control Priority network, University of Washington, also said that the US did not increase the production of equipment for medical workers early on.
`This is a failure of American policy,` Jamison said.
The second reason for the increase in infections in the US, according to Dr. Dennis Carroll, who was in charge of handling pandemic influenza and emerging risks at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for 15 years, is people
According to Carroll, the US is `replaying` the situation in Europe, as the White House is more concerned about the economic impact of the epidemic.
`What concerns me most is that America does not have strong and effective leadership,` Carroll said.
According to Offit, the epidemic will have two major impacts: people’s health and unemployment.
Assessing America’s capacity, Dr. Carroll said that Washington has enough ability to stop Covid-19 even though the number of infections `increases exponentially`.
`Covid-19 containment measures will be widespread in many places in the coming weeks. I think people are starting to realize the risk of infection,` Carroll said.
Regarding resources, Professor Jamison believes that the US can quickly change the current situation of lack of medical equipment thanks to its available economic potential.
The US is moving forward to put a record $2,000 billion economic stimulus package into practice.
`American scientists, within a month or two, could completely change the medical environment to deal with the epidemic,` Jamison said.
Forecasting upcoming developments, Jamison believes that the situation in the US will definitely get worse.
`I don’t think the situation in the US is much worse than in China,` Jamison said.
Offit believes that the epidemic in the US will soon `peak`, possibly in April or May 2020.
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