国际英语资讯:Trump administration to classify regions by risk levels in new COVID-19 guideline_时事

国际英语资讯:Trump administration to classify regions by risk levels in new COVID-19 guideline

The new guidance came as the United States now has the most confirmed cases in the world, reaching 85,840 as of 11:47 p.m. ET on Thursday (0347 GMT on Friday), according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. Deaths caused by the disease rose to 1,296 in the country.

As the 15-day social distancing strategy he announced last week nears the end, Trump has in recent days floated the idea of loosening the restrictive measures.

"I gave it two weeks," he said Tuesday during a virtual town hall hosted by Fox News aired from the White House Rose Garden. "I guess, by Monday or Tuesday, it's about two weeks. And we will assess at that time."

The president said he wants the United States to be "opened up" by Easter, which falls on April 12 this year, despite warnings from both health experts and state governors that doing so risks failing to contain the escalating spread of the coronavirus.

Facing a critical shortage of ventilators in his state, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was visibly outraged by the federal government's response to the crisis. "The president says it's a war," he said at a news briefing on Tuesday. "Well, then, act like it's a war!"

New York State now tops all other states in both confirmed cases and fatalities. Cuomo said the state needs 30,000 additional ventilators to cope with the dire situation, but Vice President Mike Pence told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that 4,000 ventilators will be sent to New York.