The number of deaths from American coronavirus exceeds 400,000 in the last hours of Trump

BALTIMORE (AP) – The number of deaths in the United States from coronavirus eclipsed 400,000 on Tuesday in the dwindling hours of President Donald Trump’s term, whose treatment of the crisis has been judged by public health experts as a singular failure.

The total number of lives lost, compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is almost equal to the number of Americans killed in World War II. This is the population of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Tampa, Florida; or New Orleans. It is equivalent to the sea of ​​humanity that existed in Woodstock in 1969.

It is close to the 409,000 Americans who died in 2019 due to stroke, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, flu and pneumonia combined.

And the virus has not ended the United States in any way, even with the arrival of vaccines that could eventually beat the outbreak: a model widely cited by the University of Washington projects that the death toll will reach almost 567,000 on May 1st.

Although the Trump administration has been blamed for Operation Warp Speed, the shock program for developing and distributing coronavirus vaccines, Trump has repeatedly downplayed the threat, mocked masks, shown against the blockades, has promoted untested and unsafe treatments, diminished scientific experts and expressed little compassion for the victims.

Even his own fight with COVID-19 seemed to leave him unchanged.

The White House defended the administration.

“We mourn all the lives lost by this pandemic and, thanks to the president’s leadership, Operation Warp Speed ​​has led to the development of multiple safe and effective vaccines in record time, something many said would never happen.” said White House spokesman Judd Deere. .

President-elect Joe Biden takes office on Wednesday.

The nation reached 400,000 milestones in just under a year. The first known deaths from the virus in the U.S. occurred in early February 2020, both in Santa Clara County, California.

Although the count is based on figures provided by government agencies around the world, the actual number of deaths is believed to be significantly higher, in part due to inadequate evidence and cases incorrectly attributed to other causes at first.

It took four months to reach the first 100,000 dead. It took just over a month to go from 300,000 to 400,000.