Nearly 100,000 people in the United States died from the Chinese coronavirus during President Joe Biden’s first month in office.
An estimated 99,763 people in the U.S. have died due to complications from the coronavirus during Biden’s first month in the White House, according to statistics provided by Johns Hopkins University.
When Biden first took office, the nationwide coronavirus death toll was 397,611. Just one month later, that number is on the cusp of 500,000, as total numbers of coronavirus-related deaths in the United States reached 497,374 on Saturday.
“There’s nothing we can do to change the trajectory of the pandemic in the next several months,” said Biden last month, after being sworn into office.
The president’s remarks came after he signed an order mandating both masks and social distancing on federal property — an order that he and members of his family later violated.
As for the state of New York, the U.S. Department of Justice has reportedly launched an investigation into New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D)’s handling of the state’s nursing homes and other long-term care facilities during the pandemic.
New York Assemblyman Ron Kim — a Queens Democrat — added that Cuomo threatened his career over the ongoing nursing home scandal rocking the administration and warned that he could “destroy” Kim if he did not fall in line and vigorously defend officials involved in the fallout.
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said he “100 percent” believes that Cuomo threatened the New York Assemblyman, adding, “that’s classic Andrew Cuomo.”
“It’s a sad thing to say, Mika, but that’s classic Andrew Cuomo,” de Blasio said Thursday in an interview with Mika Brzezinski on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
“A lot of people in New York State have received those phone calls,” continued de Blasio. “The bullying is nothing new. I believe Ron Kim, and it’s very, very sad. No public servant, no person who’s telling the truth should be treated that way.”
“But yeah, the threats, the belittling, the demand that someone changed their statement right that moment, many, many times, I’ve heard that and I know a lot of other people in this state have heard that,” he added.
Meanwhile, the New York City mayor is recommending that his residents wear two masks at the same time, instead of one, according to a report by New York Daily News.
“Of all the things that we’ve learned in this crisis, maybe the most profound is the power of a mask,” said de Blasio during a Thursday press briefing. “What we’re saying today is, time to double up.”
“Two masks are better than one,” the mayor added. “Make it a double.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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