For the first time since January, China has announced no new deaths due to COVID-19 on Tuesday. China has officially ended its lockdown of Wuhan early Wednesday, allowing the citizens of the city where the coronavirus pandemic was first identified to move more freely. However, it will be a long time before life in Wuhan returns to pre-coronavirus normalcy. Citizens leaving the city will now have to present a government-sanctioned application to authorities which measures whether the individual is a contagion risk. In similar fashion, countries across Europe are discussing plans of action for the lifting of lockdown measures as more positive data shows the containment measures may be working. However, the pandemic is far from over.
On Tuesday, United Kingdom's Prime Minister Boris Johnson remain in the intensive care unit as his coronavirus symptoms maintain their severity. The U.K. has begun to question their mode of action if Johnson is no longer able to preform his duties as Prime Minister, a role in Britain that has no constitutional succession line. Japan has declared a state of emergency as infections in the nation surge. New York and New Jersey both reported their highest record number of deaths in a day, although the practice of social distancing in these states, as well as California and Washington, is beginning to show signs of encouragement. The United States is currently waiting to see if these hot zones are actually flattening the curve.
Total Global Cases: Over 1.4 million
Total Deaths: At Least 81,000
Total Recovered: At Least 300,000
World Health Argument
President Donald Trump criticized the World Health Organization during his coronavirus press conference on Tuesday, accusing the organization of withholding important information and siding with China. Trump threatened that the United States will withhold their funding to the global organization due partially to the WHO issuing a statement at the end of January that they did not approve of Trump's travel restrictions to China. At the time, the WHO issued a statement that, "restricting the movement of people and goods during a public health emergencies is ineffective in most situations and may divert resources from other interventions."
"We're going to put a hold on money spent to the WHO; we're going to put a very powerful hold on it and we're going to see," Trump stated. "They called it wrong. They call it wrong. They really missed the call."
The President also tweeted earlier on Tuesday: "The W.H.O. really blew it. For some reason, funding largely by the United States, yet very China centric. We will be giving that a good look. Fortunately I rejected their advice on keeping our borders open to China early one. Why did they give us such a faulty recommendation?"
According to the New York Times, the World Health Organization's, which comes from member countries, is around $5 billion annually. As of 2017, the United States was required to fund $111 million for the organization's efforts, but sent an additional $401 million in voluntary contributions.
Amazon's New Policy
Amazon
Amazon News tweeted: "As we continue to explore even more preventative measures to support the health and safety of employees, we are piloting disinfectant fogging, a practice commonly used by hospitals and airlines to supplement the enhances cleaning measures that are already in place."
Workers have demanded that the company issue building closures as warehouse workers test positive for COVID-19. However, Amazon is currently aiming to expand their workforce to meet the increasing demand for shipped goods. The company has focused on prioritizing medical supplies and is running temperature checks and providing masks for staff.
Increased Testing
Walgreens
The testing sites will use the Abbot Laboratories rapid COVID test and expect to test up to 3,000 per day.
