Published 11:19 IST, June 23rd 2020
'Proves he's unfit': Biden slams Trump for slowing Covid testing because more cases arise
Joe Biden attacked Trump over his decision to slow down Coronavirus testing, stating that such directions prove that the President is ‘unfit to lead the nation’
Former Vice President of US and Donald Trump’s 2020 election opponent Joe Biden has launched yet another attack on Trump over his decision to slow down Coronavirus testing. Biden remarked that such directions of the President prove that he is ‘unfit to lead the nation’.
Addressing the audience at his campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Donald Trump said on Saturday that he has asked his administration to slow down coronavirus testing because robust testing turns up too many cases of COVID-19.
‘Slow the testing down, please’
Trump told supporters that the US has tested 25 million people, far more than any other country. The “bad part,” Trump said, is that widespread testing leads to logging more cases of the virus.
“When you conduct testing to that extent, you’re going to find more people, you’re going to find more cases,” Trump said. “So, I said to my people, ‘Slow the testing down, please.’ They test and they test.”
Trump opted to hold his first rally in 110 days despite concerns from local health officials that it could lead to further spread of the virus in Tulsa. Most of those in attendance declined to wear a mask.
Coronavirus in the US
The COVID-19 outbreak has killed about 122,610 people in the US, and nearly a half-million worldwide, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University, though the real numbers are believed to be higher.
The number of newly confirmed cases per day has risen from about 21,400 two weeks ago to 23,200, taking the tally to 2,388,153. In Florida, Georgia, Texas and Arizona — states that loosened their stay-at-home restrictions early — daily deaths have been quietly rising since early June.
Rising case numbers can partially be explained by the wider availability of testing. Mild cases, previously undetected because of limits on who could be tested, are now showing up in the numbers.
Updated 11:19 IST, June 23rd 2020