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01 April, 2020
By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Int’l News Desk
NEW YORK/ WASHINGTON/ RIYADH: The United Nations chief has warned the coronavirus pandemic presents the world with its “worst crisis” since World War-II (WW-II), with the number of dead in the United States now higher than in China and hard-hit countries in Europe reporting their highest number of deaths in a single day.
The US announced some 800 deaths on Tuesday – bringing the total to more than 3,700. It also has the most confirmed cases. China has reported 3,282 deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
Spain, the United Kingdom, France and Italy each reported their largest single-day increase in deaths since the start of the pandemic. Some 12,428 people have died from the disease in Italy, the world’s most seriously affected country.
Around the world, nearly 857,000 people have been diagnosed with the virus and at least 178,000 have recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 42,000 people have died.
US President Donald Trump has just shared on Twitter his ‘Coronavirus Guidelines for America’ after warning the country faced a “very painful” two weeks as it confronts the virus.
The recommendations advise the elderly and those with underlying health conditions to stay at home and urge those feeling sick to stay at home and seek medical attention.
The White House on Tuesday projected 100,000 to 240,000 deaths in the United State from the coronavirus pandemic even if current social distancing guidelines are maintained.
The projections were presented during a White House briefing on Tuesday. They suggest that, if no social distancing measures had been put in place across the country, between 1.5 million to 2.2 million people would have died.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who is helping to lead the US effort, said, “as sobering a number as that is, we should be prepared for it” but he added that he hopes it won’t soar so high.
President Donald Trump called US efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus “a matter of life and death” and urged the public to heed his administration’s social distancing guidelines.
Trump called on Americans to brace themselves for a “rough two-week period” but predicted the country would soon see a “light at the end of the tunnel” of the global catastrophe that has killed more than 3,700 Americans and infected a total 186,000 thus far.
“I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead,” Trump said. “We’re going to go through a very tough two weeks.”
The comments came after Trump announced Sunday that he was extending to April 30 the social distancing guidelines that urged 
Americans to cease social gatherings, work from home, suspend onsite learning at schools and more in a nationwide effort to stem the spread of the virus. He formally released the extended guidelines on Tuesday.
It was an abrupt reversal for Trump, who spent much of last week targeting April 12 as the day he wanted to see Americans “pack the pews” for Easter Sunday services.
The death toll in the United States from the new coronavirus outbreak has surpassed the official tally in China, with more than more 3,400 fatalities recorded, according to data collected by the Johns Hopkins University.
That means the US now has the third highest death toll after Italy and Spain, and the highest number of coronavirus cases in the world with more than 175,000.
Further restrictions on movement are being considered in the US to curb 
the spread of the virus, with the country now reporting twice the number of cases as China where the outbreak began late last year.
Saudi Arabia is urging Muslims to wait before making plans to attend the annual Hajj pilgrimage until there is more clarity about the coronavirus pandemic, the kingdom’s minister for Hajj and Umrah said, according to state television.
Some 2.5 million pilgrims usually flock to the holiest sites of Islam in Mecca and Medina each year for the week-long ritual.
In addition to closing mosques, Saudi Arabia has already halted international flights and suspended the year-round Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca.
