Published 11:36 IST, July 5th 2020
US records over 43,000 new coronavirus cases on July 4 as Trump hails 'tremendous testing'
Further raising concerns of the health experts, the US has recorded 43,742 new coronavirus cases on July 4 while total infections have surpassed 2.8 million.
Further raising the concerns of the health experts, the US has recorded 43,742 new coronavirus cases on July 4 while the total infections have now spiked to more than 2.8 million as per Johns Hopkins University tally. Moreover, the world’s most virus-hit country reported 252 deaths on July 4 that has brought the total death toll of COVID-19 pandemic in the US to 129,676. Even though the July 4 figures showcased a decline in new cases from a day before when the country reported over 57,600 new cases, the US President Donald Trump has been facing severe backlash for the handling of the global health crisis.
According to international media reports, the reason behind the decline in daily tally on July 4 could be less reporting on the national holiday for which Trump planned a “huge event”. The 45th US President has repeatedly stated that ‘Covid shaming’ will not work for him, so he not only celebrated the 244th independence day of the United States at Mount Rushmore but has already kickstarted his reelection campaign rallies. Donald Trump has also credited the surge in “cases, cases, cases” to the massive testing.
'Fake Evening news'
Amid constant criticism, the US President, who has previously touted the country’s coronavirus testing being the ‘greatest in the world’, said on July 5 that if a country carries out ‘40 million’ tests, there are going to be more cases. However, this would not be the case in countries that are not conducting as many tests and therefore, their ‘numbers’ will not show up every night on the ‘Fake Evening News’. Donald Trump also lashed out on the media for wanting more cases, but that is the result of ‘tremendous’ COVID-19 testing in the US. He also noted that the death rate of the country is declining but nobody would ‘hear about that’.
While US President Donald Trump has credited ‘massive’ testing of coronavirus for the surge in COVID-19 cases, country’s top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci has said that the US is ‘not going in the right direction’. In an interview with an international peer-reviewed general medical journal on July 2, Fauci noted that it is still possible to reopen businesses by the ‘use of public health measures’ even though coronavirus contagion in the US is not heading towards a positive direction.
Updated 11:36 IST, July 5th 2020