A total of more than 15 million cases of "holiday epidemic" have been diagnosed repeatedly.
Can the United States get out of the "dark hour" this winter?
(Global hot spots)
Recently, the new crown pneumonia epidemic in the United States once again broke out a shocking number.
According to statistics from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, as of 16:26 Eastern Time on December 10, the cumulative number of confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in the United States has increased to more than 15.5 million, and the number of deaths has increased to more than 290,000.
Compared with the same time of the previous day, in the past 24 hours, the United States has newly confirmed more than 200,000 new cases of new coronary pneumonia. The number of new coronary pneumonia deaths in a single day has broken a record, an increase of 3,218 cases, exceeding the record of 3,124 cases set the day before.
At the end of 2020, the following traditional Western holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas may cause the American people to worry far more than joy. The number of confirmed cases is refreshing, and the "holiday epidemic" hits repeatedly.
Some foreign media worry that the "holiday season" may become a "disaster season" in the United States this winter.
"A terrible record was broken again"
Recently, the US "Business Insider" website reported that as the number of confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia and the number of deaths in various states in the United States reached a peak, a terrible record has been broken-December 9, local time, deaths related to new coronary pneumonia The number of cases exceeded 3,000 for the first time, the highest number of deaths from new coronary pneumonia in a single day in the United States so far.
Even more frightening is that a day later, this record was refreshed again.
After entering the winter, the new crown pneumonia epidemic in the United States rebounded severely.
According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, since December, the United States has had more than 100,000 new cases for several consecutive days.
Among them, there were more than 230,000 new cases in a single day on December 4.
The ensuing of traditional Western holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas has further aggravated the difficulty of fighting the epidemic in the United States.
The Associated Press stated that as the United States stepped deeper into the "holiday season", the long-awaited gatherings of relatives and friends were increasing, and the number of new coronavirus infections across the country continued to rise.
In the first week of December, the 7-day average number of deaths from new coronary pneumonia in the United States exceeded 2,000 for the first time since the spring peak, reaching 2011. Just two weeks ago, the number was 1,448.
Today, the rebound of the epidemic after Thanksgiving has not yet subsided, and the Christmas holiday is just around the corner.
Many American public health experts have expressed concern that the spread of the new crown virus during Christmas may be more serious than during Thanksgiving.
Anthony Fauci, an American infectious disease expert and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, issued a warning in an interview a few days ago that frequent trips and gatherings during the Christmas period will contribute to the spread of the epidemic.
He predicted that according to the current development trend of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in the United States, mid-January may be a "very dark hour."
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this winter will be catastrophic for the United States. Nearly 450,000 people may die of new coronary pneumonia by February 2021, unless people can wear masks, maintain social distancing and Preventive measures such as avoiding large gatherings.
However, the Spanish "Herald" website bluntly stated in the report that despite the US authorities’ suggestions, it is expected that millions of Americans will travel on Christmas Day.
"The New York Times" also pointed out with concern that the United States is accelerating to another staggering total, that is, the cumulative death toll exceeds 300,000.
The newspaper issued a comment calling for Americans to "declare war on Christmas" if they want to defeat the new crown virus.
"Thousands of deaths could have been avoided"
Many analysts believe that the movement and gathering of people caused by cold weather and holidays are the direct cause of the repeated epidemics in the United States this winter.
CNN reported that although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an epidemic prevention guide on November 19 to remind Americans not to travel during Thanksgiving, this did not stop people from traveling enthusiastically.
On the day before Thanksgiving Day alone, passenger traffic at US airports exceeded 1 million.
The large-scale movement of people has led to a rapid increase in confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in the United States.
Of course, the problem is more than that simple.
In fact, since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic at the beginning of this year, the United States has been deeply involved in the "tug-of-war" of fighting the epidemic. Not only has it failed to achieve significant results, it has become the most severely affected country in the world.
The high number of confirmed cases and the number of deaths exposed more deep-seated problems.
"The federal system implemented by the United States makes it difficult to introduce a unified national policy to contain the epidemic. For example, what measures are taken in key epidemic areas to cut off the spread of the virus? The power to formulate these specific policies lies with each state, and the federal government cannot take coercive measures. Intervene. In the face of the epidemic, each state has its own governance and cannot coordinate well in terms of epidemic prevention policies and material distribution, which prevents the United States from effectively controlling the epidemic nationwide." Shen Yamei, deputy director of the American Institute of the China Institute of International Studies In an interview with our reporter, the analysis stated that in addition to institutional constraints, some American politicians politicized the epidemic and introduced anti-epidemic policies based on partisan interests rather than the objective needs of the epidemic, which also caused the epidemic to be delayed.
Former National Institutes of Health official Rick Bright previously wrote in the Washington Post that at the beginning of the outbreak in the United States, public health institutions composed of scientists have been politicized, manipulated and ignored.
The public health guidance proposed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been repeatedly rejected by government officials.
This hostile attitude to the truth and the politicization of the epidemic have led to avoidable deaths for thousands of Americans.
"The U.S. epidemic has not been significantly alleviated so far, and it is related to the overall ineffective guidance of the federal government. From the words and deeds of some U.S. officials deliberately weakening the importance of fighting the epidemic, we can see that the government is negligent in respecting science and guiding public opinion. Sun Chenghao, a scholar at the American Research Institute of the Institute of International Relations, analyzed to our reporter that until now, there is still a voice in the United States that the new crown pneumonia epidemic is just a hoax, resulting in some people's awareness of epidemic prevention still weak.
Recently, many senior US officials have been diagnosed with new coronary pneumonia.
In the eyes of the US media, this is exposing the long-existing problem of slack in the US officials' "taking the lead" in despising the epidemic prevention work.
"Signs of recovery may gradually disappear"
The continuous shadow over the United States poses serious threats to the health and safety of the people, but also brings severe challenges to the US economy and society.
Agence France-Presse reported on the 8th that US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced an economic stimulus plan totaling US$916 billion that day.
According to reports, in order to stop the spread of the new crown virus, many commercial activities in the United States were halted and tens of millions of people lost their jobs.
Although the United States has shown signs of economic recovery, as the number of new coronary pneumonia cases in some parts of the country has reached a record level, experts worry that if there is no new assistance, the signs of recovery will gradually disappear.
Sun Chenghao pointed out that although the United States has entered a state of resumption of work and production, if the epidemic is not effectively controlled, many industries including the hotel industry and tourism will still be greatly impacted. The US economy will definitely be dragged down by the epidemic. Other domestic policies The advancement of this will also be hindered.
Not only that, but the chronic problems of the polarization between the rich and the poor and racial discrimination that have existed in American society will also worsen under the epidemic.
A non-profit organization focusing on youth development in the United States recently released a survey report showing that young people are generally pessimistic about the inequality in the United States, especially during the new crown pneumonia epidemic, African descent and other minorities are on education, employment and other issues. The weakness is more prominent.
"Washington Post" commented that compared with white families, the penetration rate of hardware required for distance education in American African-American families was lower during the epidemic.
A data released by the McKinsey Consulting Company in the United States on the 8th local time also showed that due to the impact of the epidemic, after American schools have switched to online teaching, the gap between minority students and white students has significantly widened.
"In the United States, many minorities such as African Americans and Latinos do not have good living conditions, and there are no ideal objective conditions to help them maintain social distance. In addition, it is more difficult for them to find a job after they are unemployed. This may cause them Dissatisfaction with the society and the government, and street demonstrations. If problems such as gun violence are added, it will add more destabilizing factors to American society." Sun Chenghao said.
Shen Yamei believes that the epidemic will also cause "mental" harm to American society that cannot be ignored.
"In addition to the unemployment caused by economic contraction, the increasing number of confirmed cases and deaths every day will also trigger people to reflect on why, as the country with the most developed economy, the most advanced technology, and the most abundant medical resources, the United States has become the world The hardest hit area of the epidemic? The poor performance of the US government in responding to the epidemic has exposed the shortcomings of the US political system and governance capabilities, which will have a huge blow to its hard power, soft power, and global leadership."
Yan Yu