Published 13:03 IST, August 6th 2020
COVID-19 pandemic is 'going away', says Donald Trump contradicting Anthony Fauci
US President Donald Trump has contradicted the remarks made by most trusted health adviser of his own administration, Dr Anthony Fauci over coronavirus.
US President Donald Trump has contradicted the remarks made by most trusted health adviser of his own administration, Dr Anthony Fauci. During a press briefing on August 5, while Trump said that the coronavirus outbreak is going to ‘go away’, US top infectious disease expert had denied the possibility of COVID-19 to disappear.
According to Fauci, the virus is highly transmissible and therefore, it is highly unlikely it would be completely eradicated from the world. But Donald Trump believes that “things go away” and therefore, he has showcased confidence that the coronavirus contagion would eventually be eradicated.
Donald Trump said, “It’s going away, it will go away, things go away, absolutely. No question in my mind, sooner rather than later.”
Trump’s optimism regarding the COVID-19 pandemic going away came as the global infections have surpassed 18.8 million with 707,754 deaths. Out of this, over 4.8 million are only detected in the United States with 158,200 casualties due to COVID-19. Just recently, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, Dr Deborah Birx noted that the COVID-19 has become ‘extraordinarily widespread’ across the US. Meanwhile, Fauci, the director of national Insitute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has already expressed that the disease might never be eradicated.
Trump calls Fauci's reasoning 'wrong'
Trump contradiction came after he dismissed the claims made Fauci over his explanation of surge in coronavirus cases. Trump and Fauci have expressed opposing views at various instances while responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. But recently, after claiming to share a ‘good relationship’ with Fauci, US President retweeted former’s video explaining the difference between the US and European countries and stressed that it is ‘wrong’.
In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Fauci noted that European countries closed 95 per cent of their economy but the United States only shut it by 50 per cent. Therefore, according to him, the COVID-19 cases in the US are drastically spiking. However, Trump did not agree with the remarks made by US’s most trusted medical adviser and said that the US has recorded more coronavirus cases because they have conducted more tests than any other nation across the globe.
Updated 13:02 IST, August 6th 2020