In an interview on 3 August, US President Donald Trump claimed that America was "lower than the world" in coronavirus cases, before suggesting South Korea's figures were so low because they were faking their statistics.
The US President handed the reporter a series of charts and graphs to illustrate that the US was "lower than the world" regarding data for COVID-19, the Daily Mail reported.
The interviewer clarified he was asking about death as a proportion of the population, not death as a proportion of cases. "That's where the US is really bad," the reporter said of the death as population proportion cases.
He also went on to add that India is having a "tremendous problem" with COVID-19.
“Don’t forget, we’re much bigger than – other than India and China. China is having a massive flare up right now. India has a tremendous problem. Other countries have problems.”Donald Trump, US President
As compared to larger countries, the US is doing much better, he said.
What the Data Shows
As of 4 August, the US accounts for the world's highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths at 4,717,716 and 155,471, respectively, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
The US has tested over 60 million people for the coronavirus, Trump said.
At the same time, India’s recent tally reached 18,55,745 with around 52,050 people testing positive in a day for the coronavirus.
China, on the other hand, reported 36 new cases in the country compared to the 43 it reported a day before.
“I think we’re doing very well. I think that we have done as well as any nation. If you really look, if you take a look at what’s going on, especially now with all these flare-ups and nations that they were talking about,” Donald Trump told reporters on Monday.
Trump also said that COVID-19 numbers were going down in Texas and Arizona, two states which have experienced a sudden, exponential resurgence in coronavirus cases.
“As we begin to contain the virus in these states, we must focus on new flare-ups in the states where the case numbers have risen, including Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Missouri, and I think you will find that they are soon going to be very much under control," he said.
President Trump also asserted that a permanent lockdown isn’t a viable path and would inflict more damage in the long run.
The purpose of the lockdown is to make sure that the hospitals are not overburdened and it also gives time to study the virus to develop effective treatments, he said.
(With inputs from IANS)
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