Close X
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
ADVT 
International

Experts call Trump's rosy virus message misguided

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 06 Oct, 2020 10:51 PM
  • Experts call Trump's rosy virus message misguided

Should people fear the coronavirus?

Public health experts say 1 million worldwide deaths are among reasons to be concerned, if not fearful, and to take everyday precautions despite rosy advice from the still-recovering president.

“Don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it. You’re going to beat it,” Donald Trump said in a White House video released after he left the hospital Monday.

In the United States alone, more than 210,000 people weren’t able to beat it.

The seven-day rolling average for new U.S. cases has climbed over the past two weeks to almost 42,000 per day. The nation also sees more than 700 COVID-19 deaths each day.

COVID-19 also is deadlier than the flu, despite Trump's claim otherwise. Flu has killed 12,000 to 61,000 Americans annually since 2010, according to CDC estimates.

It is true that the vast majority of people who get COVID-19 develop only mild symptoms. But experts can’t predict which patients will develop dangerous or deadly infections. And only a small percentage of Americans have been sickened by the coronavirus, meaning the vast majority are still at risk for infection.

It is true, as Trump said in the video, that medicines have been found that can treat the virus, reducing chances for severe illness and death. But there is still no cure for it and no definitive date for when an effective vaccine might become widely available.

Another reason for concern is uncertainty over which patients will develop lasting complications affecting the lungs, heart, kidneys and other organs. While these are more common in patients with severe infections, persistent symptoms lasting several months have occurred even in those with mild disease. Fatigue is among the most common.

Taking everyday precautions including wearing masks and social distancing to curb disease spread doesn’t mean the virus is dominating people's lives, said Dr. Khalilah Gates, an assistant professor of medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago.

“There are things we need to do collectively to make sure we minimize the mortality,” Gates said. “That’s not domination. That’s just being willing to make changes so we can all get through this in a much better and safer way.”

MORE International ARTICLES

17-Year-Old Indian Boy Runs Over Mother In UAE Freak Accident

17-Year-Old Indian Boy Runs Over Mother In UAE Freak Accident
Sharjah Police took the woman to Al Qasimi Hospital where she was pronounced dead.    

17-Year-Old Indian Boy Runs Over Mother In UAE Freak Accident

Pakistani Singer Rabi Pirzada Quits Showbiz Over Leaked Private Pics

Pakistani singer Rabi Pirzada on Monday announced that she has decided to quit the entertainment industry, after her private pictures got leaked online.    

Pakistani Singer Rabi Pirzada Quits Showbiz Over Leaked Private Pics

Indian National Wins $ 4 Million In Abu Dhabi Raffle In UAE

Indian National Wins $ 4 Million In Abu Dhabi Raffle In UAE
An Indian national won 15 million dirhams ($4 million) at the Big Ticket raffle in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital city, it was reported on Monday.

Indian National Wins $ 4 Million In Abu Dhabi Raffle In UAE

Premature Indian-Origin Baby Saved By Machine Lungs In London

Premature Indian-Origin Baby Saved By Machine Lungs In London
Reva Malvankar weighed less than three pounds at birth last year and was close to death with a respiratory infection.

Premature Indian-Origin Baby Saved By Machine Lungs In London

Sikh Community May Have To Evolve And Adapt, Says Singapore Professor

Tan, a Chinese-origin Singaporean, has studied Singapore Sikh community as an undergraduate and authored a book on the community in 1986.

Sikh Community May Have To Evolve And Adapt, Says Singapore Professor

Indian-Origin Man Diljeet Grewal Jailed For Knife-point Rape, Robbery In UK

An Indian-origin man who raped and robbed a woman at knife point in south-east England has been sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment by a UK court.

Indian-Origin Man Diljeet Grewal Jailed For Knife-point Rape, Robbery In UK