Donald Trump

I am writing this column sequestered at home in Minnesota. The university where I work has been closed for about two weeks now and will remain so for the rest of the academic year. Starting on April 1, I will continue teaching my classes online. 

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The death toll from a coronavirus in the US has exceeded 4,000. That's double the number of reported deaths three days earlier, according to Johns Hopkins. The number of casualties eached 4079 on Wednesday early in the morning - compared to 2010 over the weekend. More than 40 percent of the deceased are in New York, the epicenter of the infection.

Russia has announced today that it has sent a humanitarian aid plane to the United States, where the coronavirus pandemic has already claimed more than 4,000 casualties, according to the France Press.

An AN-124 of the Russian Air Force, loaded with protective masks and medical equipment, has flown to the United States, the Defense Ministry said in Moscow.

A Russian military plane carrying medical equipment has departed for the United States, the defense ministry in Moscow said on April 1, as the Kremlin flexes its soft power amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Antonov-124, "with medical masks and medical equipment onboard", left for the U.S. overnight, a statement said, without providing further details.

As the number of coronavirus deaths continues to surge in the U.S., officials are warning the disease could kill between 100,000 and 240,000 Americans, even if people continue to stay home and limit their contact with others.

The presidents of Turkey and the U.S. agreed that the fight against the novel coronavirus outbreak could only be won through global solidarity and cooperation, according to an official statement on March 31.

US President Donald Trump has announced he has promised Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte medical aid worth $ 100 million to fight the coronavirus.

The doctor leading the White House's novel coronavirus response team said on March 30 she is expecting as many as 200,000 coronavirus cases if the U.S. response to the outbreak is done "almost
perfectly."

Oil prices extended losses in Asian trade on March 30 and languished at 17-year lows, with the coronavirus crisis escalating around the world and no end in sight to a vicious price war.    

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell 5.3 percent to trade at $20 a barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude was off 6.5 percent at $23.