KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 – The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the United States may become the new epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic as the number of cases has increased exponentially.
“We are now seeing a very large acceleration in cases in the US. So, it does have that potential,” WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told Reuters.
However, she reportedly said today that there was still time to turn the situation around.
“You’ve got the best public health brains in the world,” CNN reported Harris as saying.
“You’ve got people who can harness technology brilliantly. You’ve got people who can really think out of the box.”
She recommended that the US start testing people, find each case and identify contacts of those infected. It is also necessary to isolate the sick and the exposed, quarantine them, and treat the ill.
On Tuesday, 85 per cent of all new reported coronavirus cases worldwide had been in the US and Europe, with 40 per cent of those in the US.
CNN reported that over 53,000 people in the US have been infected with coronavirus, while at least 709 Americans have died.
US president Donald Trump insisted that the country will ‘open for business soon’, resisting calls from various parties to announce a lockdown.
In an attempt to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, many of his peers across the globe have already imposed national lockdowns and movement control orders.
