Americans braced for what the nation's top doctor warned Sunday would be the hardest and saddest week of their lives while Britain assumed the unwelcome mantle of deadliest coronavirus hot spot in Europe after a record 24-hour jump in deaths that surpassed even hard-hit Italy's.
Britain's own prime minister, Boris Johnson, was hospitalized, 10 days after testing positive for COVID-19 in what his office described as a precautionary step. Amid the dire news, there were also glimmers of hope some hard-hit areas the number of people dying appeared to be slowing in New York City, Spain and Italy.
The news was cautiously welcomed by leaders, who also noted that any gains could easily be reversed if people did not continue to adhere to strict lockdowns.
US Surgeon General Jerome Adams offered a stark warning about the expected wave of virus deaths.
This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment,'' he told Fox News Sunday. But President Donald Trump later suggested the hard weeks ahead could foretell the turning of a corner. We're starting to see light at the end of the tunnel, Trump said at an evening White House briefing.
In New York City, the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic, daily deaths dropped slightly, along with intensive care admissions and the number of patients who needed breathing tubes inserted, but New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned it was too early to tell the significance of those numbers.
Italy and Spain also got some encouraging news. Italy registered its lowest day-to-day increase in deaths in more than two weeks 525, said Angelo Borrelli, the head of the national Civil Protection agency. The pace of infection also seemed to be slowing. Even so, Borrelli warned, This good news shouldn't make us drop our guard."
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