US faces worst week of coronavirus outbreak, warns country's top doctor

Describing the upcoming period of the coronavirus pandemic as a "Pearl Harbor" and a "9/11 moment" for the US, the country's top doctor on Sunday warned this week is going to be the hardest and the saddest one for most Americans. His warning came as the number of people infected people in the US has exceeded 300,000, with the death toll climbing past 9,000; more than 4,000 of those deaths are in the New York state. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Jerome Adams said the coronavirus pandemic rivals some of the darkest moments in US history, including the two worst foreign attacks on American soil: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the September 11 terrorist attacks.

"The next week is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment. It's going to be our 9/11 moment; it's going to be the hardest moment for many Americans in their entire lives," he said."And we really need to understand that if we want to flatten that curve and get through to the other side, everyone needs to do their part,” Adams told “Meet the Press” Sunday talk show.

His remarks came a day after President Donald Trump said that the next week is going to be a “very very difficult” time for the country. Members of the White House Task Force on the coronavirus have predicted between 100,000 to 200,000 lakh deaths in the next several week. Peak in New York is expected in the next six-seven days, during which US authorities are urging people to strictly enforce the social mitigation measures including social distancing.

Nearly 95 per cent of the country’s 330 million population are under stay-in-home orders."Ninety per cent of Americans are doing their part, even in the states where they haven't had a shelter in place," the Surgeon General said in a passionate plea to his countrymen.“I wish every governor would encourage the people in their states to follow these guidelines for 30 days, that's what I want. But I want them to do what they can within their states,” he said.

In addition to declaration of a national emergency, President Donald Trump has notified major disaster declaration in more than 42 of the 50 states."This is going to be a hard week, it's going to test our resolve. It's going to be the hardest week of our lives, but I'm confident based on the numbers in Washington and in California and Italy and in Spain, we can get through this, we will get through this. I know the American people will do the right thing and stay-at-home,” Adams said.

The US armed forces have deployed more than 50,000 of its soldiers, including 1,000 doctors and nurses in the fight against coronavirus. They have built or is in the process of building 30 hospitals.

"We will soon be taking over the Javits Center, a 2,500-bed capacity. To show you how all in we are, the United States military will soon be running the largest hospital in the United States. That shows you our commitment,” US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said. The US Navy has deployed two of its hospital ships - in New York and Los Angeles - to treat the rush of COVID 19 patients.“Whether it's the ships, the field hospitals, or our preparation of eight sites around the country where we built hospitals, another 22 that will come online in the next two weeks, we have stayed ahead of need here. That's factor number one,” he said.