US Has Beaten Coronavirus, Says Trump

WASHINGTON:
US President Donald Trump said that America has beaten the coronavirus battle and that the number of those affected was falling, despite the country accounting for the highest number of COVID-19 infections and fatalities in the world.

At a press conference on Monday, Trump said his country has saved hundreds of thousands of lives in the fight against COVID-19, reports Efe news. He said the US has accepted the task and the country had lived up to the task.

The claim drew comparisons on Twitter to the “mission accomplished” statement proclaimed in May 2003 by then-President George W. Bush, referring to the invasion of Iraq, despite the fact that the war would still last for many more years. The US currently accounts for the world”s highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths at 1,347,388 and 80,397, respectively, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In addition, the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Assessments, whose projections the White House has drawn heavily on, estimates that the US will have topped 137,000 deaths in early August. Asked about that projection, Trump opined that “many of those models are wrong”, and at the same press conference he stressed that “the numbers are falling a lot throughout the country”, something that does not agree with the data.

Although the daily increase in the number of deaths has stabilized and the University of Washington expects that indicator to drop until August, the number of infections continues to rise and this Sunday alone registered 20,000 new cases in the United States. Trump also announced that he expects the US to pass the 10 million tests carried out this week and boasted that his country is the one that has carried out the most tests for coronavirus so far, although, when examined in terms of per capita, it lags behind less than Italy, Germany and Canada.

The President repeatedly insisted people can get tested in the US if they wish to, despite the number of tests carried out so far barely covers 3 per cent of the population and are only being done for those who show symptoms. Trump also stressed that he was unhappy with China and not interested in renegotiating the terms of a partial trade agreement with the country in light of the economic effect of the pandemic.