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Trump Optimistic on COVID-19 Recovery

Zlatica Hoke

   WASHINGTON - Hours after the United States saw the deadliest day in the
   fight against the coronavirus, U.S. President Donald Trump came out
   with a prediction of better days to come. At a news conference
   Wednesday evening, the president said the expected number of COVID-19
   deaths in the United States is now about 61,000 -- down from a recent
   estimate of 82,000 and down even further from an estimate earlier this
   month predicting a death toll of at least 100,000 and as many as
   240,000.

   On Wednesday, close to 2,000 COVID-19 U.S. patients died within a
   24-hour period, bringing the death toll from the virus to more than
   14,500. Trump said the figures would be higher if he had not closed the
   U.S. borders early in the outbreak, contrary to the World Health
   Organization advisory. He said new projections could be even more
   optimistic depending on continued patience and discipline by the
   American people, many of whom are confined to their homes.

   In the U.S., African Americans are the group hardest hit by the
   coronavirus. Officials say that is because that population group also
   suffers from other health problems, such as asthma and diabetes, that
   weaken the immune system. Elderly populations everywhere are more
   likely to succumb to the virus.

   Spanish officials say that most of the 4,750 people in Madrid's nursing
   homes who have died during the outbreak had the COVID-19 disease or its
   symptoms. Most of those deaths are not showing up in the city's
   COVID-19 death count because most of the ill weren't tested and
   therefore aren't counted in the national toll.

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