As governors charted their own course in combating the spread, White House advisers sparred over the effectiveness of an untested drug. Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain was in the hospital as his symptoms persisted.
With new cases rapidly increasing in Tokyo and in other large cities in Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will declare a state of emergency.
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White House warns that the week ahead will be full of sadness as U.S. death toll approaches 10,000.
White House officials warned Americans to brace for a terrible week ahead of “death” and “sadness,” as the number of confirmed cases in the country surged past the combined totals of detected infections in Italy and Spain — the two hardest-hit countries in Europe.
With testing still lagging in many parts of the United States, and with as many as half of all those infected showing no symptoms but still able to spread the virus, the more than 336,000 confirmed cases almost inevitably understates the enormity of the crisis. Even the surging death toll, approaching 10,000 by Monday morning, failed to capture the true scale of the epidemic, public health officials said.
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Even the surging death toll, approaching 10,000 by Monday morning, failed to capture the true scale of the epidemic, public health officials said.
Like the broader fight against the virus, the basic task of counting the dead has been hampered by a patchwork approach reflecting a chaotic and disorganized federal effort, with the states employing inconsistent protocols and struggling with a lack of resources.
The halting federal response has left states and counties fighting with one another for critical supplies and has led governors to impose restrictions such as mandatory quarantines on neighboring states. Florida set up checkpoints to identify cars from New York City and Louisiana, another hot spot, and Texas officials said they would screen drivers entering from Louisiana.
New York City remained the epicenter for the outbreak, with harrowing scenes of panicked doctors and besieged hospitals.
The virus is now enveloping New Jersey’s densely packed cities and suburbs, and it has seeded itself in all 50 states, with cities including Los Angeles, Miami and New Orleans seeing the number of cases doubling every two to five days.
The pandemic showed little sign of letting up around the world, but the slowing death rate in Italy and signs of some stability in Spain, led investors early Monday to send stocks higher, with Wall Street opening 4 percent up.
However, economists warned that there would not be a fully functioning economy again until people were confident that they could go about their business without a high risk of catching the virus.
And for many countries, the toughest days lie ahead.
Britain saw the fastest growth in daily deaths in recent days.
The illness has ripped through the ranks of royalty and government alike, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has the virus, heading to a hospital Sunday evening for tests, the government said. And Prince Charles opened the new Nightingale hospital in London by video link while he continued his recuperation.
Queen Elizabeth II gave a rare televised address Sunday night, seeking to bolster hope and confidence in the nation.
“We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return,” she said. “We will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.”
Debate roils White House over an untested drug the president insists on promoting.
President Trump doubled down on Sunday on his push for the use of an anti-malarial drug against the coronavirus, issuing medical advice that goes well beyond scant evidence of the drug’s effectiveness as well as the advice of doctors and public health experts.
Mr. Trump’s recommendation of hydroxychloroquine, for the second day in a row at a White House briefing, was a striking example of his brazen willingness to distort and outright defy expert opinion and scientific evidence when it does not suit his agenda.
Mr. Trump suggested he was speaking on gut instinct, and acknowledged he had no expertise on the subject.
“But what do I know? I’m not a doctor,” Mr. Trump said, after recommending the anti-malaria drug’s use for coronavirus patients as well as medical personnel at high risk of infection.
“If it does work, it would be a shame we did not do it early,” Mr. Trump said, noting again that the federal government had purchased and stockpiled 29 million doses of the drug.
“What do you have to lose?” Mr. Trump asked, for the second day in a row.
When a reporter asked Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, to weigh in on the question of using hydroxychloroquine, Mr. Trump stopped him from answering. As the reporter noted that Dr. Fauci was the president’s medical expert, Mr. Trump made it clear he did not want the doctor to answer.
“He’s answered the question 15 times,” the president said, stepping toward the lectern where Dr. Fauci was standing.
On Saturday, Dr. Fauci had privately challenged rising optimism about the drug’s efficacy during a meeting of the coronavirus task force in the White House’s Situation Room, according to two people familiar with the events. The argument was first reported by the website Axios and confirmed on CNN on Monday morning when Peter Navarro, the president’s trade adviser who is overseeing supply chain issues related to the coronavirus, acknowledged the disagreement.
Mr. Navarro said he had taken a sheaf of folders to the meeting, outlining several studies from various countries, as well as information culled from C.D.C. officials, showing the “clear” efficacy of chloroquines in treating the coronavirus.
Dr. Fauci pushed back, echoing remarks he has made in a series of interviews in the last week that rigorous study is still necessary. Mr. Navarro, an economist by training, shot back that the information he had collected was “science,” according to the people familiar with what took place.