https://www.rt.com/russia/484639-russian-coronavirus-aid-usa/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=push_notifications&utm_campaign=push_notifications
*WATCH Russian military plane with masks & other Covid-19 medical aid depart for US* 1 Apr, 2020 01:53 / Updated 20 minutes ago A military cargo plane carrying medical supplies to help the US combat the coronavirus outbreak has taken off from an airbase in Russia, after President Trump accepted an offer of assistance from Vladimir Putin. *“**The plane with masks and medical equipment on board left for the United States,”* the Russian Defense Ministry announced <https://ria.ru/20200401/1569423811.html> in a brief statement early Wednesday. *READ MORE: Russian Covid-19 aid plane to US: Putin asked Trump if he needed help & he accepted <https://www.rt.com/news/484623-russia-coronavirus-aid-us/>* Footage released by the ministry provided an up-close look inside the cargo plane, showing hundreds of boxes of supplies en route for the US, as well as the moment the craft took off for its nearly 8,000-kilometer trek. [image: RT]Boxes of Russian medical supplies bound for the US. © Russian Ministry of Defense [image: RT]A Russian military cargo plane prepares to deliver medical supplies to the US. © Russian Ministry of Defense The aid shipment comes after a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart on Tuesday, during which the two discussed the fast-growing pandemic and a major shortage of protective gear in the US, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Though US President Donald Trump announced the *“very, very large planeload”* of supplies before it was confirmed by Moscow, Peskov later said Russia had agreed to help, as the pandemic *“affects everyone without exception and is of a global nature.”* https://www.rt.com/usa/484638-covid-19-death-toll-record/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=push_notifications&utm_campaign=push_notifications *US breaks its one-day record with 865 Covid-19 fatalities, but peak not expected until mid-April* 1 Apr, 2020 00:58 / Updated 28 minutes ago The US has shattered its one-day record for Covid-19 fatalities, with 865 deaths on Tuesday alone as the lethal illness rapidly spreads in major hotspots across the country. With more than 188,000 confirmed cases nationwide, the world’s leading epicenter for Covid-19 has achieved another grim milestone. Data gathered by Johns Hopkins University shows the US broke its own record for the number of deaths recorded in a single day. The 865 new fatalities bring the total US death toll to 3,873, well surpassing China, where the coronavirus outbreak originated last December. *ALSO ON RT.COM*‘*Matter of life & death’: Trump’s Covid-19 task force projects up to 240,000 Americans will die even under strict social isolation* <https://www.rt.com/usa/484635-americans-life-death-coronavirus/> Though both cases and deaths are on the rise in the US – particularly in New York, where nearly half of the country’s fatalities have been reported – the outbreak has yet to reach its peak. A model created by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicts a sharp spike in fatalities in the coming weeks, suggesting the outbreak will reach its apex sometime in mid-April, at which point the country could see more than 2,200 deaths per day. During the daily briefing earlier on Tuesday, the White House’s coronavirus task force projected that up to 240,000 patients could succumb to the disease in the best-case scenario, with a top expert on the team, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warning Americans to prepare for a six-figure death toll. While Dr. Fauci said he hoped aggressive containment efforts would reduce that number, even the more optimistic models suggest the worst is yet to come. Italy still leads the world in coronavirus fatalities with more than 12,000, and faces one of the highest mortality rates at over 11 percent, though health experts have noted that the actual number of infections in the Mediterranean nation likely far exceeds those confirmed by tests, suggesting the real death rate is much lower.
