Covid-19 strategy working in US, number of new cases stabilizing: Trump

Amid the coronavirus outbreak in the US that has caused thousands of fatalities in the country, President Donald Trump on Wednesday sought to reassure the country, saying there are signs that the aggressive strategy to slow the spread is working and the number of new cases is stabilizing.

"The numbers are changing and they are changing rapidly and soon we will be over that curve. We will be over the top and we will be headed in the right direction. I feel strongly about that," Trump told reporters during his daily White House news conference on coronavirus.

By Wednesday, more than 430,000 Americans had tested positive for coronavirus and fatalities had soared to over 14,760, with more than 1900 deaths reported in just one day. New York, with nearly 150,000 confirmed cases and 6,200 deaths, has emerged as the epicenter of the Covid-19 outbreak in the US.

"As we mourn the terrible loss of life for this grave pandemic, we are seeing signs that our aggressive strategy to slow the spread is working. The number of new cases is stabilizing. I was watching this morning New York, I was watching Louisiana -- you see what is going on," Trump told reporters at the White House.

At the same time, Trump also said that while some terrible days lay ahead, it would soon be over.

"We are going to get this terrible thing behind us. Some people will never be able to forget if they had lost a loved one, but we are going to get it behind us," he said.

"This is a tribute to the discipline and the devotion of the American people what we have accomplished, if every American continues to strictly adhere to social distancing guidelines, we can defeat the invisible enemy and save countless lives and we can do it much more quickly," Trump said.

"We are hopefully heading toward a final stretch -- the light at the end of the tunnel -- as we continue to wage all out medical war to defeat the virus, we are also finding an economic war to ensure we can quickly turn to full financial strength," said the US President.

Responding to a question, Trump said now authorities expect a far lower deaths in the country as compared to the earlier projection of between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths.

Dr Deborah Brix, a member of the White House Task Force on Coronavirus, said the new model projects a decline in number to around 61,000.

"I think what has been so remarkable, to those of us who have been in the science fields for so long, is how important behavioral change is and how amazing Americans are in adapting to and following through on these behavioral changes. That's what's changing the rate of new cases," she said.

"That's what will change the mortality going forward because now we're into the time period of full mitigation that should be reflected within the coming weeks of decreasing mortality," she said, adding she was impressed by the American people.

 

So far the US has conducted more than 1.9 million tests.

"The losses, as grievous as they are, that we are seeing today are a reflection of people that contracted the coronavirus in many cases before strong mitigation steps were taken before the guidelines for America fully took hold. The cases, however, and the new cases and the hospitalizations are, in fact, a reflection of the results of what the American people are doing," Vice President Mike Pence said.

"In the New York metropolitan area, New Jersey, New Orleans Metro area, Detroit and Chicago and Boston, we continue to see evidence of stabilization that should be an encouragement to every American; an encouragement that we may be reaching the point where the impact of the coronavirus is beginning to level off," Pence said.