'250,000 Lives Lost to COVID-19 in the US'... Biden Says "Another 200,000 Could Die"

Cited at Medical Experts Meeting... Emphasis on Urgent Need for Swift Regime Handover
New York City Public Schools Suspend In-Person Classes

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] As the death toll from the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in the United States surpassed 250,000, the situation is spiraling out of control. New York City, the largest school district in the U.S., decided to suspend in-person classes at public schools due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19. President-elect Joe Biden, citing statements from medical professionals, warned that an additional 200,000 deaths could occur by the time he takes office on January 20 next year, and once again urged President Donald Trump to actively cooperate in the transition of power.

According to CNN and others on the 18th (local time), Johns Hopkins University reported that the cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. reached 251,400. Considering that the global cumulative COVID-19 death toll was 1,346,167 as of that day, it means that 2 out of every 10 deaths worldwide occurred in the U.S. On that day alone, 1,707 COVID-19 deaths were reported in the U.S., the highest daily death toll since May 14, when 1,774 deaths were recorded.

The number of infections in the U.S. is also surging. On the 17th, the number of new cases reached 161,900, bringing the total number of infections to over 11.48 million.

President-elect Joe Biden is traveling to attend a video conference with healthcare workers.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Amid the ongoing spread of COVID-19, President-elect Biden held a virtual meeting with medical professionals responding to COVID-19 and expressed concern, saying, "Medical personnel say that an additional 200,000 deaths could occur before the next administration takes office." Biden had previously warned, "If President Trump does not cooperate, more people could die."

He criticized the Trump administration's lack of cooperation in the transition of power. He pointed out, "We are not able to access the information we need," and added, "If we cannot access federal intelligence, we will be weeks or months behind." This reflects concerns that the smooth transfer of power is not proceeding, making it difficult for the next administration to quickly distribute vaccines.

Mary Turner, president of the Minnesota Nurses Association, who attended the meeting, told President-elect Biden, "We seem to be facing tremendous death and suffering in the coming weeks. We must act now to save as many lives as possible."

The Biden transition team has prioritized COVID-19 response as its top task, but due to delays in recognition by the General Services Administration (GSA), it has been unable to access the current administration's COVID-19 measures, making it difficult to prepare future countermeasures.

Amid the spread of COVID-19, New York City decided to suspend in-person classes and attendance at public schools starting the 19th, just one day later. This means in-person classes are being suspended eight weeks after the start of the school year. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the decision to suspend attendance was made because the COVID-19 positivity rate exceeded 3%.

Mayor de Blasio had warned that if the average COVID-19 test positivity rate exceeded 3% for seven consecutive days, public school attendance would be suspended. According to The New York Times (NYT) tally, 1,940 new COVID-19 cases were reported that day. Across New York State, 5,094 new cases were confirmed.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had quietly removed President Trump's guidelines for reopening schools in the fall semester earlier. The political media outlet The Hill evaluated this as "quietly deleting the assessment that children are less likely than adults to be infected with COVID-19 and less likely to be virus transmitters."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.