The United States crossed Monday, May 11, the mark of 80,000 deaths related to the new coronavirus, according to the count of Johns Hopkins University. This dramatic assessment, the worst officially recorded by a country, is set to get even worse in the coming weeks.

New York City alone accounts for a quarter of the deaths, with almost 20,000 deaths. And the New York balance sheet could be underestimated by several thousand, warned Monday the American Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC).

If the epidemic is receding in New York, new outbreaks have appeared elsewhere, such as in the capital region of Washington, where a field hospital was installed Monday.

Donald Trump optimistic

The United States also records nearly 1.34 million diagnosed cases of Covid-19, according to the university, including some 216,000 people who have been cured.

"We have developed a test capacity unrivaled anywhere in the world," Donald Trump said from the White House on Monday, noting that "nine million" tests have been performed in the country.

Anxious to project at all costs - and irresponsibly according to its detractors - the image of a country that has crossed the obstacle and is restarting, the republican billionaire has multiplied optimistic statements. "We are opening (the country) and there is an enthusiasm that I have not seen in a long time," he said, again predicting a dramatic economic rebound in 2021.

First cases at the White House

The fact remains that the virus has spread to the White House where first cases have been reported. Donald Trump assured that the chances that members of his immediate circle, or himself, would be affected by the Covid-19 was minimal.

But, at the same time, the American president raised the possibility of reducing his contacts with his vice-president Mike Pence, who was not present, seeming to confirm that the latter was in quarantine after a case of coronavirus in his entourage.

Katie Miller, spokesperson for Mike Pence and wife of Stephen Miller, a close adviser to Donald Trump, tested positive. A soldier also serving the President. Three members of the White House pandemic crisis unit took self-isolation as a precaution: Anthony Fauci, the world renowned epidemiologist who has distinguished himself in the fight against many viruses, from AIDS to Ebola, Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), Stephen Hahn, head of the Medicines Agency (FDA).

In an internal memo released on Monday, the White House called on everyone working in the West Wing to wear a mask when entering and working in the building, unless they are at their desk.

At press conferences, all journalists, whose temperature is systematically taken before entering the White House, now ask their questions through their masks.

With AFP

The summary of the France 24 week 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