Today’s coronavirus update: Next wave fears stoked; mink may have spread virus
China has been placing massive orders of protective personal equipment — sparking fears that the country is preparing for a second wave of the coronavirus, American traders in China told The Post.
President Trump on Wednesday blamed China’s “incompetence” for allowing the virus to spread around the world and kill more than 320,000 people.
Meanwhile, Wuhan — the Chinese city where the pandemic began — has banned the consumption of wild animals. The virus is believed to have emerged from a wet market in the city, jumping from an animal to a human.
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Here’s what else we learned today:
New York crisis:
- Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city will offer free coronavirus tests at all of its 169 nursing homes to protect elderly communities hit hard by the virus.
- But Gov. Andrew Cuomo continued to shift blame — this time to the White House — for his widely criticized directive barring nursing homes from turning away coronavirus-positive people.
- A “tidal wave” of Big Apple buyers are fleeing the concrete jungle for Connecticut, creating an unexpected uptick in the real estate market.
- Here’s everything you need to know about when NYC schools could reopen — and how they could change.
State funding:
- Trump threatened to “hold up funding” for Michigan and Nevada if the battleground states follow through with plans for residents to cast mail-in or absentee ballots for upcoming elections.
Frontline heroes:
- Dr. James Mahoney, an intensive care doctor in Brooklyn who delayed retirement to work on the coronavirus frontlines has died of the disease. He was 62.
- William Coddington, a Florida nurse struggling with the trauma of treating COVID-19 patients, was found dead in his car from a suspected overdose.
Virus toll:
- A new analysis found that the coronavirus would infect more than 5 million people — and kill nearly 300,000 — across the US by late July if states fully reopen without social distancing measures in place.
- A 43-year-old California man has shared a shocking photo of the toll the virus has taken on his strapping body — turning it into an emaciated shell during his six-week stay in a hospital.
Global pandemic:
- Dutch authorities believe a mink may have transmitted the virus to a farmworker in what may be the first known animal-to-human case.
- Workers in Brazil’s largest city are digging mass graves as the country battles its ballooning outbreak.
- Some countries are turning to address the economic ravages of the virus, with New Zealand suggesting a four-day workweek, and a tech CEO recommending France sell the Mona Lisa to make up for losses.
Meanwhile…
- Tom Brady is getting tackled by critics for launching a new “immunity” multivitamin supplement amid the pandemic.
- He’s not the only one facing heat. A Russian nurse was suspended for wearing nothing but her undies under see-through personal protective equipment.