Coronavirus pandemic update, the Americas

This 27 March 2020 video about the USA says about itself:

Donald Trump Puts Americans at Risk: “I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators”

Earlier tonight on Fox News with Sean Hannity, Donald Trump suggested that not only could he re-open the United States on a partial basis by choosing those areas unaffected by the crisis, but he also questioned the need for the extra ventilators that health professionals like Dr. Anthony Fauci have suggested are needed to save lives.

The reality is either that Trump doesn’t understand the magnitude of this crisis, or that he is willing to sacrifice the lives of regular Americans to see growth on the stock markets. Trump is nearly unique among world leaders in getting scientific advice, and then just blatantly ignoring it.

TRUMP REJECTS NEW YORK’S PLEA FOR VENTILATORS President Donald Trump rejected New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plea for tens of thousands of ventilators to treat a massive surge in coronavirus cases, saying without evidence that the numbers were inflated. “I have a feeling that a lot of the numbers that are being said in some areas are just bigger than they’re going to be,” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. [HuffPost]

U.S. IS WORLD’S NO. 1 IN CORONAVIRUS CASES The United States hit a grim milestone on Thursday, surpassing China to become the country with the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases. The U.S. had more than 85,000 reported cases across all 50 states and U.S. territories, and nearly 1,300 deaths. [HuffPost]

WHITMER FIRES BACK AFTER TRUMP SLAMS ‘YOUNG WOMAN GOVERNOR’ After Trump told Fox News “We’ve had a big problem with the young, a woman governor, you know who I’m talking about from Michigan,” the governor in question, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer, took to Twitter to set the record straight. “I’ve asked repeatedly and respectfully for help. We need it. No more political attacks, just PPEs, ventilators, N95 masks, test kits. You said you stand with Michigan — prove it,” she wrote. [HuffPost]

DISASTER CHIEF SLAMS TRUMP’S ‘PREPOSTEROUS’ CLAIM Dr. Irwin Redlener, the director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, called out Trump for once again claiming no one could have imagined a crisis like the coronavirus pandemic hitting the U.S. Redlener, talking to MSNBC, described Trump’s comment as “a preposterous statement” that “has no bearing to reality.” “But, you know, why are we surprised?” he asked. [HuffPost]

DR. FAUCI’S STARK MESSAGE FOR YOUNG AMERICANS “Even though you are young, you are not absolutely invulnerable,” Fauci told “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah. Young people defying stay-at-home orders are getting sick from the coronavirus — even those without other health conditions — and are landing in hospital ICUs, he said. [HuffPost]

EPA SUSPENDS POLLUTION RULES, CITING VIRUS The Environmental Protection Agency, citing the coronavirus pandemic, suspended enforcement of environmental rules, allowing power plants and other big polluters to decide for themselves whether to comply with laws. [NYT]

CDC mails out coronavirus flyer that looks a lot like a Trump reelection ad.

TRUMP CAMPAIGN THREATENS TV STATIONS Trump’s reelection campaign has sent a cease-and-desist letter to TV stations airing an ad critical of the way the president has handled the coronavirus crisis. The ad, “Exponential Threat”, features audio clips of Trump downplaying the virus while the onscreen graphic shows the rising number of cases. “This is their new hoax”, Trump can be heard saying in the ad, which was funded by Priorities USA, a pro-Joe Biden PAC. [HuffPost]

SANDERS SPITS FIRE AT SENATORS OVER BENEFITS In a blistering speech, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) went off on Republican lawmakers for attempting to prevent the Senate’s emergency coronavirus relief package from passing because it would include extra relief for the nation’s lowest-wage workers. “Oh my word, will the universe survive?” he mocked his fellow senators as seen in a now-viral video from the Senate floor. “How absurd and wrong is that? What kind of value system is that?” [HuffPost]

THE U.S. HAS A ‘MORAL OBLIGATION’ TO HELP VENEZUELA The United States should temporarily suspend the punishing sanctions it has placed on the leaders and economies of Iran and Venezuela and bolster humanitarian aid in order to help them deal with worsening outbreaks of coronavirus, 11 Democratic senators argued in a letter to the Trump administration. “U.S. sanctions are hindering the free flow of desperately needed medical and humanitarian supplies,” the senators wrote. [HuffPost]

This 27 March 2020 video from the USA is called U.S. sanctions are actively accelerating the coronavirus outbreak in Iran.

ARGENTINA’S EFFORT TO LEGALIZE ABORTION STALLED With strong majorities in Congress and increasing public support, Argentina seemed primed to become just the fourth nation in Latin America to legalize abortion. Then coronavirus hit Argentina and put a halt to those plans. [HuffPost]