Number of U.S. coronavirus cases climbs to 190,000+
States brace for surge in cases - NBC's Alice Barr Reports
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KYMA, KECY) - As the death toll rises, and the financial impact deepens, the United Nations is now calling the coronavirus pandemic the biggest international crisis since World War II.
It's the first of the month, in a once-in-a-lifetime crisis. As millions of out of work Americans struggle to pay rent and bills, some are already turning to soup kitchens for help.
"We've seen almost a doubling in the numbers of people we've served." says Cheryl Mitchell, from the Bowery Mission.
The economic devastation is only outmatched by the horrific human toll. U.S. deaths topped 4,500 Wednesday, with more than 200,000 cases confirmed.
"I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead." said President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
The administration now expects as man as 240,000 Americans to die in coming weeks. They're staggering numbers, and experts say they will climb much higher if people don't follow guidelines to stay home.
"The mitigation and social distancing clearly works." says Dr. Anthony Fauci, with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
"We need to put our foot on the accelerator and not on the brake." Fauci added.
But without a nationally-mandated stay home order, the responses vary from state to state. California and Washington now predicted to see fewer fatalities because they acted early, while more than a dozen governors still have not issued statewide orders. One of the largest, Florida, did so Wednesday.
"Even though there are a lot of places in Florida with very low infection rates, I think it makes sense to make this move now." said Governor Ron DeSantis, (R-Florida).
State leaders also asking for federal help with desperately-needed medical equipment - saying states are having to bid against each other for lifesaving supplies, driving up prices.
"You will run out of staff before you will run out of beds and you may run out of equipment before you run out of staff." said Governor Andrew Cuomo, (D-New York).
In the midst of the shortage, medical experts now considering advising regular Americans to wear makeshift protective face coverings, while saving high-quality masks for the health care workers on the front lines.
Health experts say the best benefit for everyday Americans beginning to wear some kind of face-covering, even a scarf, may be to prevent people who already have the disease, but aren't showing symptoms, from spreading it.
