Trump renews attack on China over COVID-19 pandemic, claims outbreak was allowed to happen

US President Donald Trump once again slammed Beijing over the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday, July 2, terming the virus as a ‘plague from China’. According to reports, Trump said that the coronavirus outbreak should never have happened and that the virus came right after the US had signed a major trade deal with China.

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'Plague from China'

As per reports, Trump was speaking at the Spirit of America Showcase in the White House. He said ”Plague from China, that is what it is, should have never happened but they did allow it to happen. We had just signed a brand-new trade deal and the ink wasn't even dry when it came over."

COVID-19 has infected about 10,929,352 people worldwide and the global death toll has crossed the 500,000 mark according to the John Hopkins University coronavirus resource centre. The United States is currently the global epicentre of the virus having reported 2,811,200 positive coronavirus cases and more than 131,175 deaths.

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‘Kung Flu’

This wasn't the first time the US President blamed China for the pandemic. Trump drew flak from WHO and leaders around the world for calling COVID-19 the 'Chinese virus'. Also, earlier last month, while addressing an election rally in Tulsa, Trump had said that COVID-19 has 'more names than any other disease in history'.

"I can name - Kung flu. I can name 19 different versions of names. Many calls it a virus, which it is. Many calls it a flu. What difference. I think we have 19 or 20 versions of the name," said Trump, playing around the term “Kung Fu” which is a Chinese martial arts practice.

The novel coronavirus first appeared in China late last year and the country has been heavily criticised for its role in allegedly keeping the origin and pandemic potential of COVID-19 a secret from the world. While it is believed that the virus originated at a wet market in Wuhan, some leaders believe the virus was manufactured in a Wuhan laboratory.

(With agency inputs; Image Credit AP)

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Read: Donald Trump Terms COVID-19 As ‘Kung Flu', Blames China For Global Outbreak