Chinese experts predict US could overtake China as Coronavirus epicentre by April

Experts in China have stated that the US, with the constant surge in positive Coronavirus cases, will overtake China to become the epicentre of the pandemic by April, a news agency reported. Presently, the Coronavirus has infected over 42,000 and killed over 500 people across the American mainland. 

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No proper testing 

The figures of those infected by COVID-19 could be quite high in the US, as a large number of suspected carriers haven't been tested yet, a Chinese daily reported citing experts. As of Saturday, US Vice President Mike Pence had announced that around 195,000 citizens had been tested. By then, the reported number of infected cases had reached 35,224, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center of John Hopkins University. This showed that at least 18 per cent of those being tested were confirmed to have contracted the disease.

A Chinese daily quoted Mei Xinyu – a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation – saying that such a high percentage was “horrifying". He also said this has led to scepticism that there might be around or more than 1,00,000 Americans might not have been tested but were infected. He also predicted that confirmed cases in the US will surpass the total number of infections in China by first half of April.

Read: Subramanian Swamy Makes Big Statement About Timing Of Coronavirus Hitting India

Meanwhile, WHO expert Mike Ryan had reportedly said that the novel Coronavirus could not be contained only by lockdowns and travel bans. In order to contain it, he said that the US government should identify suspects on a large scale and put them on the test.

This comes as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on March 23 warned of a "challenging week ahead" as a statewide lockdown took effect amid worries the city of 8.4 million people is becoming one of the world's biggest hot spots in the spread of the new Coronavirus. More than 12,000 people have tested positive in the city and almost 100 have died. 20,000 cases are reported in the state.

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Read: Here's How Much ICMR Says Social Distancing Could Reduce India's Overall Coronavirus Cases

Image: AP