China News Service, May 11 (Zhang Aolin) On May 9, local time, the Washington National Cathedral in the United States tolled 1,000 bells to express condolences to the 1 million deceased registered in the country who died of the new crown epidemic. .

　　"This is a sad day." Mia, an official of the "Center for American Progress", a US policy research institution, said recently when the death toll from the new crown in the United States exceeded 1 million.

She wrote that after just seven months, the number of deaths from the new crown in the United States "almost doubled", not only that, but more than 200,000 American children have become "epidemic orphans."

　　At present, some countries, including the United States, are trying to "coexist" with the virus, and the number of cases has surged again in some countries due to relaxation of epidemic prevention.

Fauci, an American infectious disease expert, pointed out that "it (the epidemic) is not over, we are still experiencing a global pandemic."

Image source: Screenshot of the social media account of the Washington National Cathedral in the United States

"It's hard to imagine such a loss"

　　On May 9, local time, Randy Holrace, president of the Washington National Cathedral, said before the bell rang, "Today, our country crossed a new tragic milestone, with 1 million Americans dying from the new crown. "

　　The National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) described the figure in a report as: It was difficult to imagine a loss of this scale before.

　　The report believes that former US President Trump has repeatedly downplayed the threat of the new crown virus, and even called the new crown pneumonia at a rally on February 28, 2020, "The Democratic Party's hoax", declaring that "we have so far not had any people die from the coronavirus."

Just a day later, Washington officials announced the death of a local COVID-19 patient.

On September 15, 2021, local time, small white flags were erected on the National Mall in Washington, USA, each flag representing a person who tragically passed away due to the new crown epidemic.

　　Mia, an official of the "Center for American Progress", wrote in the "Capitol Hill" on May 4, "I remember when I passed the National Mall in Washington, D.C. last September, as far as I could see, the small white flag was high. Flying, many flags were written with the names of loved ones lost in the pandemic. At the time, at least 673,484 people in the United States died from Covid-19.”

　　"Just seven months later, that number has nearly doubled. Now, 1 million people in the U.S. have died from Covid-19," Mia wrote.

　　Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said the fact that so many people had died from the virus was shocking, while warning that "this is far from over."

A new wave of epidemics may have struck

　　As Murray said, due to the cancellation of the mask order, the closure of testing sites, and a series of measures to ease epidemic prevention restrictions, the number of new cases in the United States is increasing rapidly.

　　According to a report by CBS on April 30, the number of new confirmed cases in the United States increased by 52% in two weeks, and hospitalizations rose by 14%.

The report also pointed out that about 43% of the U.S. population currently lives in areas with high or significant risk of the spread of the new crown.

Data map: The United States under the epidemic.

　　NBC also pointed out in the report that although the number of new crown deaths in the United States has declined in recent weeks, about 360 Americans still die from the disease every day.

　　However, in this context, the US government and federal judges are still arguing over whether to wear masks.

　　Due to the expiration of the "mandatory mask order" on the US public transportation system on April 18, 2022, the US CDC originally planned to extend it, but was overturned by Federal Judge Mizler of Florida, resulting in the US Transportation Security Administration, the four major Airlines and Amtrak have cancelled the "mandatory mask order".

　　In addition to the United States, countries that have gradually liberalized epidemic prevention restrictions before, the situation is not optimistic.

　　The British government began to implement the "coexistence with the new crown" plan in February, but the epidemic in the country has continued to deteriorate since March, and the infection level has risen to the highest level in history; Germany, which has also relaxed epidemic prevention restrictions, reported new diagnoses and deaths on May 4, local time The numbers are 106,631 and 241 respectively; on April 29, local time, South African Health Minister Fahra said that due to the continuous rise in new diagnoses in the past 14 days, South Africa may be entering the fifth wave of the epidemic...

Data map: Fauci, an American infectious disease expert.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Mengtong

'We're still going through a global pandemic'

　　In response to the current epidemic situation, Fauci, an American infectious disease expert, said, "It (the epidemic) is not over, and we are still experiencing a global pandemic."

　　Fauci also pointed out in an article that "the traditional concept of herd immunity may not apply to the new coronavirus."

He explained that this is mainly because the new crown virus is prone to mutation, and in the past two years, five separate variants, including Delta and Omicron, have appeared.

Second, not enough people are vaccinated, and the non-persistence of immunity also contributes to the persistence of the new coronavirus.

　　As for the practice of some countries to relax epidemic prevention restrictions, the British "New Scientist" magazine recently published an article: "If in early 2020, every capable country adopted a 'zero' policy, what would happen to the world. What is indisputable is that , the global death toll, the number of chronically infected people, and the economic loss will be much less... Omicron may not have a chance to evolve at all."

　　The article concludes with emotion: "When the next pandemic occurs, governments should keep in mind the 'zeroing' strategy." (End)