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CORONAVIRUS | USA

Coronavirus: Trump's latest on vaccine prediction and "99% of cases harmless" claim

As health experts cautioned the public not to gather in crowds to celebrate the July 4th weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump made some alarming claims.

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FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to attendees as he hosts a 4th of July "2020 Salute to America" to celebrate the U.S. Independence Day holiday at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 4, 2020.   REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Phot
Carlos BarriaREUTERS

The number of U.S. coronavirus deaths exceeded 130,000 on Monday, following a surge of new cases that has put President Donald Trump's handling of the crisis under the microscope and derailed efforts to restart the economy.

Trump tries to downplay Covid-19 crisis

Trump The overall rate of increase in U.S. deaths has been on a downward trend despite case numbers surging to record levels in recent days, but health experts warn fatalities are a lagging indicator, showing up weeks or even months after cases rise.

Nationally, cases are approaching 3 million, the highest tally in the world and double the infections reported in the second most-affected country Brazil. Case numbers are rising in 39 U.S. states, according to a Reuters analysis.

Sixteen states have posted new record daily case counts this month. Florida confirmed a record high 11,000 in a single day, more than any European country reported in a single day at the height of the crisis there.

As health experts cautioned the public not to gather in crowds to celebrate Independence Day over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump asserted without providing evidence that 99% of U.S. coronavirus cases were “totally harmless.” He also said the United States would have a vaccine or therapeutic solution to the virus "long before" the end of 2020. This came on the back of a top U.S. health official saying that he was optimistic the Trump administration’s vaccine-acceleration program “Operation Warp Speed” would generate a safe and effective vaccine for Covid-19 by year-end.

At least five states have already bucked the downward trend in the national death rate, a Reuters analysis showed. Arizona had 449 deaths in the last two weeks of June, up from 259 deaths in the first two weeks of the month. The state posted a 300% rise in cases over the full month, the most in the country.

'One of biggest challenges is White House messaging'

Steve Adler, the Democratic mayor of Austin, Texas, on Monday criticized the Republican Trump's comment over the weekend that the virus was mostly harmless.

Look over there! U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to manage the message with distraction.
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Look over there! U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to manage the message with distraction.Gripas Yuri/ABACAGTRES

"It's incredibly disruptive and the messaging coming from the president of the United States is dangerous," Adler told CNN. "One of the biggest challenges we have is the messaging coming out of Washington that would suggest that masks don't work or it's not necessary, or that the virus is going away on its own."

Soaring case numbers and packed hospitals in Texas have prompted some mayors and other local leaders to consider launching a new round of stay-at-home orders. Cities are getting together and lobbying the state's governor to restore the authority to impose local anti-coronavirus measures, Adler said.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Monday defended Trump's comment over the weekend, saying the president was not trying to play down the deaths.

"But it's really to look statistically to know that whatever risks that you may have or I may have, or my, my children or my grandchildren may have, let's look at that appropriately and I think that's what he's trying to do," he told reporters outside the White House.

Cuomo criticises Trump comments

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, however, called on President Donald Trump to not be a "co-conspirator" of the coronavirus and acknowledge the "major problem" it poses as cases spiked in dozens of states after some rushed to reopen.

"So, Mr. President, don't be a co-conspirator of Covid," Cuomo said at a news briefing.

"Acknowledge to the American people that Covid exists, it is a major problem, it's going to continue until we admit it and each of us stands up to do our part."

Cuomo said Trump was "enabling" the virus if he failed to acknowledge the severity of the situation, and slammed the president's comments that the spike in U.S. cases was due to increased testing.

"He makes up facts. He makes up science," Cuomo said, citing several past Trump statements on the virus such it would disappear like a miracle as the weather got warmer.

"He said all those things, none of them were true," Cuomo continued. "And now we have a problem in 38 states because some people believe him."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has forecast between 140,000 to 160,000 coronavirus deaths by July 25 in projections that are based on 24 independent forecasts.