-- Amid a topsy-turvy response to the COVID-19 pandemic, some U.S. politicians are keener on playing the blame game than forging a clear strategy to wrest control of the pandemic.
-- The United States has registered over 4.39 million coronavirus cases and 150,062 deaths, with few signs the spread is slowing down.
-- Poll found that only 33 percent of Americans approve of U.S. President Donald Trump's coronavirus response, while 67 percent disapprove.
-- The U.S. politicians' groundless accusations have been refuted by officials and experts around the world.
WASHINGTON, July 29 -- Less than 100 days before the November election, unscrupulous U.S. politicians are keener on playing the blame game than forging a clear strategy to wrest control of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed over 150,000 Americans as of Wednesday.
Pedestrians with face masks walk past a store on Fifth Avenue in New York, the United States, July 4, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)
TRAGIC MILESTONE
The United States has registered over 4.39 million coronavirus cases and 150,062 deaths, more than a fifth of the world's 662,000-plus recorded deaths, as of Wednesday afternoon, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
The tragic milestone of 150,000 deaths came five months after the first reported virus death in the United States in February. The country hit the 50,000 mark on April 27 and 100,000 on May 27.
There are few signs the spread is slowing down in the United States.
According to the news website The Hill, two-thirds of the states have seen case counts increase over the last week. Florida identified more than 73,000 new cases over the past seven days, while California reported 67,000 new cases and Texas confirmed more than 57,000.
Georgia, Arizona, Louisiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, Alabama, South Carolina and Illinois all reported more than 10,000 cases in the last week, said The Hill, adding even some of the states like Alaska and Hawaii that have been spared the worst of the crisis are beginning to see case counts rise.
"The number of dead is likely to continue to rise as case counts increase, a lagging indicator as the COVID-19 disease runs its course over a long stretch of time," it said.
