White House Warns Americans To Avoid The Supermarket As COVID-19 Hits Peak

Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, in a press conference late Saturday, said that the next two weeks are extremely vital. She warned that the coming two weeks would not be the time to go shopping for food or medicines. Instead, it will be time to do everything to keep your family members and friends safe.

Tough Weeks Ahead

As coronavirus-related fatalities in the United States reached 10,943 and over 367,650 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection as of posting, the country has become the epicenter of the pandemic. President Donald Trump has warned that it could become worse in the coming weeks.

In a White House press conference, President Trump, said, “This will probably be the toughest week — between this week and next week.” He also said that, unfortunately, there would be deaths, and perhaps, a lot of deaths.

Warning For Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Washington, D.C. Residents

The advice was reportedly directed primarily at Colorado, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania residents. Federal health experts say these are the states that are still on the upside of the pandemic curve. This means it is vital for those living in these states to stay at home and observe social distancing to minimize the impact of the virus outbreak.

In that same conference, Dr. Birx revealed that virus hotspots like Louisiana, New York, and Detroit, have been predicted to hit the peak of their death tolls within seven days. The White House coronavirus task force coordinator, however, said that there are still other areas of concern developing around the country.

The Epicenter In The US

At the moment, the epicenter of the outbreak in the US remains to be the state of New York. As of posting, the death toll stands at 4,758, with 131,916 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection. The total number of cases in New York alone is only 631 away from that of Italy at 132,547 and higher than Germany at 103,375 total cases.

Data shows that New York City’s death toll could hit as high as 855 daily before it is predicted to dwindle after a week. For his part, Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned that the state of New York is still to reach “the battle of the mountaintop.”