WASHINGTON, D.C. – One hundred days ago today, U.S. experts confirmed that 100,000 Americans could die from the COVID-19 pandemic. What at the time felt like a terrible, far-off nightmare has become all too real — as the U.S. climbs past 132,000 deaths from COVID-19 and 3 million confirmed cases, more cases are being reported every day and hotspots are popping up nationwide. Meanwhile, Italy, which peaked in early April, is reporting fewer than 200 new daily cases to the U.S.’s more than 52,000. And South Korea, which saw its first confirmed case of COVID-19 the same day as the U.S., has only seen around 50 new daily cases.

The pandemic is far from over, but the Trump administration is still failing to address the issues that have plagued its COVID-19 response from the beginning:

  • A backlog of tests and failure to adequately distribute resources have left communities without the necessary resources to test their populations, with low-income communities and communities of color seeing some of the largest barriers in access.
  • Many experts agree that the nation started to reopen too early, and states like Texas and Arizona are now being forced to shut back down as their rates of infection rise.
  • Most schools are not equipped with the funds or resources necessary to keep students and staff safe, but President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos are threatening public schools with funding cuts if they refuse to reopen in the Fall.
  • Small businesses, particularly those owned by people of color, continue to struggle and close entirely as newly released data reveal just how many wealthy, well-connected corporations got Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) assistance genuinely needed by — and intended for — true mom-and-pop businesses. 

These issues continue to put Americans’ health and well-being at risk. But recent reporting says the White House’s latest strategy is to hope that Americans “will grow numb to the escalating death toll and learn to accept tens of thousands of new cases a day.” The Trump administration needs to get serious and stop playing political games with the public’s health.  

Visit Accountable.US’s website to look back on all the 100-day anniversaries of the administration’s most catastrophic failures in the early days of the pandemic. 

100 DAYS AGO THURSDAY: March 31, 2020

  • US experts admitted that 100,000 to 240,000 Americans could die from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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