US failure to stem spread of COVID-19 alarms Europe

A woman passes a fence outside Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery adorned with tributes to COVID-19 victims in New York. Pic/AFP

With COVID-19 cases in the US hitting 5 million on Sunday, the failure of the most powerful nation in the world to contain the virus has been met with astonishment and alarm in Europe. Perhaps nowhere outside the US is America's bungled virus response viewed with more consternation than in Italy, which was ground zero of Europe's epidemic.

Much of the incredulity in Europe stems from the fact that America had the benefit of time, European experience and medical know-how to treat the virus that the continent itself didn't have when the first COVID-19 patients started filling ICUs.

Yet, more than four months into a sustained outbreak, the US has easily the highest infections in the world. "We Italians always saw America as a model. But with this virus we've discovered a country that is very fragile, with bad infrastructure and a public health system that is nonexistent," said Massimo Franco, columnist with daily Corriere della Sera.

In the US, new cases run at about 54,000 a day - an immensely higher number even when taking into account its larger population. Cases are rising in nearly 20 states, and deaths are climbing in most. In contrast, at least for now, Europe appears to have the virus somewhat under control.

Unemployment aid slashed by $200

President Donald Trump has bypassed the nation's lawmakers as he claimed the authority to defer payroll taxes and replace an expired unemployment benefit with a lower amount - up to $400 a week, one-third less than the $600 given earlier. Trump's orders on Saturday encroached on Congress' control of federal spending and seemed likely to be met with legal challenges.

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