U.S. government preparing for possible 18-month pandemic

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 19, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) ― The United States federal government is making preparations in case the local COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic lasts more than 18 months.

Washington’s 100 page plan, obtained by news agency CNN, does not assume the epidemic will last over 18 months, but has merely prepared for that contingency. It is also preparing for “multiple waves of illness” to strike the U.S. population. Most people who contract the Covid-19 virus will have no symptoms or very mild symptoms, but some people will indeed become very sick and need hospitalization. The elderly and younger people with other health issues are considered at risk. Evidence from other nations, particularly Italy, suggests that young people showing no symptoms may be spreading the virus to their elderly relations.

The federal plan, signaling a reversal of President Trump’s early policy to downplay the pandemic, is considered necessary to cope with the lack of sufficient medical supplies and personnel. Dr. Irwin Redlener, 75, an expert in disaster preparedness, told CNN, “We are so incredibly underprepared for a major onslaught on hospitals.”

In a “moderate outbreak,” 200,000 Americans will need ICU beds, and 64,000 will need ventilators. However, the nation’s current capacity is fewer than 100,000 beds. The U.S. has 62,000 ventilators in its hospitals and 8,900 in the national stockpile, but many ventilators are already in use. Redlener added that the U.S. doesn’t have the staff to operate them.

CNN also reported that elective operations are being suspended and hospitals are now rationing their medical supplies.

Since the first American case of the COVID-19 coronavirus was discovered two weeks ago, infections in the U.S. have risen to 9,415. At least 150 people in America have now died of the disease. Americans are being asked to be careful of not getting infected and of not spreading the virus to others. In some places, schools have been closed, bars and restaurants have become delivery-only establishments, and mass gatherings have been banned. In hard-hit California, some mayors have asked residents to “shelter in place.” Every Catholic diocese in the U.S. has dispensed Catholics from their obligation to attend Sunday Mass and has suspended all public Masses.

During a press briefing yesterday, President Trump likened the struggle to stop the coronavirus from overwhelming the nation’s health system to a war.

“I view it as, in a sense, a wartime president,” he said.

“I mean, that’s what we’re fighting. It’s a war. … It spread violently. It’s a very, very contagious virus.”

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