Coronavirus forces three out of four Americans under lockdown
As the states tighten measures to fight the coronavirus, about three out of four Americans are now or will be facing some sort of lockdown. The recent states to order citizens to stay at home are Maryland, Virginia, Arizona, and Tennessee. These states ordering the lockdown mean that 32 out of 50 states have taken such steps.
The states are taken measures to protect the citizens meanwhile there is a fight going on between the governors and President Donald Trump over the availability of testing kits. The US has more than 175,000 confirmed virus cases and over 3,400 deaths. U.S fatality numbers have cross China’s, where the illness was first reported.
According to Johns Hopkins University, New York City is the worst-hit place in America. There have been 914 confirmed fatalities in the city. Some 245 million people are already under orders to stay at home or facing such orders which come into effect later on Tuesday. Around two-thirds of the states have issued directives for their citizens to stay put. The remaining states have localized orders in effect.
Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis is reluctant to impose a state-wide order. However, he has instructed people in four counties in the south to stay at home. Those four counties have recorded more than half of the state’s cases. He said that these orders will exist until at least the middle of May. The term ‘lockdowns’ mean, in general, that people can go outside just for essential supplies and medicines or limited forms of exercise.
Coronavirus has serious economic consequences, with millions of people have lost their jobs. 47 million could be out of jobs in the coming months, according to the estimate of US central bank, the Federal Reserve. According to CBS News, on Monday, President Trump and state governors held a conference call. In that conference call, Mr. Trump suggested there was no longer a lack of kits to test people for COVID-19.
