The United States recorded Wednesday, April 8, for the second day in a row, nearly 2,000 deaths (1,973 exactly) related to the new coronavirus, according to the count of Johns Hopkins University. It is once again the worst daily report in the world since the start of the pandemic.

In number of cases, the United States remains the most affected country, with more than 400,000 infections. With 14,695 dead in total, the world's leading power now exceeds Spain (14,555 dead), but remains less bereaved so far than Italy (17,669).

In the midst of the turmoil, New York State recorded a new death record (779 dead in 24 hours), but "we are flattening the curve", tried to reassure its governor, Andrew Cuomo. Optimism shared by President Trump, who said he hoped to see the "light at the end of the tunnel".

Pharmacy screening tests

As for the projection that 100,000 to 240,000 people could die from the coronavirus in his country, Donald Trump said he believed the United States could "do much better" - that is, much less.

"We have carefully studied the figures for Italy and Spain. We often fare better than several other countries," said Dr Deborah Birx, member of the White House crisis unit, alongside him. on the virus. "The American health care system is quite extraordinary."

The US government also authorized pharmacies on Wednesday to test for the new coronavirus, including serology tests to see if a person has ever been infected. Health Secretary Alex Azar has announced that all tests authorized by the US drug agency may now be ordered by pharmacists. The move is intended to help catch up with the United States in screening, compared to countries like South Korea.

"Don't politicize the virus"

President Trump was angry Tuesday against the WHO, deemed too close to Beijing, in particular by refusing to close the borders to people from China at the beginning of the epidemic. "WHO has really crashed," he wrote in a tweet, threatening to end US funding for the UN agency. "Don't politicize the virus," said his boss, Ethiopian Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "You have many other ways to prove yourself," he said, calling on Donald Trump not to "play with fire".

The US economy, meanwhile, is heading for a return to growth in the second half after a sharp decline this quarter, said the chairman of the Dallas Federal Reserve on Wednesday. Robert Kaplan, however, said he feared that consumers would remain cautious in their purchases once the health crisis has ended and the US economy has reopened, citing concerns about health but also jobs and savings. On the prudence of American households will depend the solidity of the rebound of the American economy, whose growth could mark a decline of 4% to 5% in annual rate, he continued.

The Donald Trump administration has initiated further discussions with Congress to unlock an additional $ 250 billion to preserve jobs. The Democrats are demanding a total extension of 500 billion.

With AFP and Reuters

The France 24 week summary invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 app

google-play-badge_FR