The United States has carried out more tests for the novel coronavirus pandemic than 10 other countries, including India, taken together, President Donald Trump has said.
Trump asserted on Sunday that the US continued to make steady progress in its war against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the country had tested 4.18-million people. "That's a record anywhere in the world," he said.
"We have done more testing than all of these countries combined – France, United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, India, Austria, Australia, Sweden and Canada," Trump told reporters at a news conference in the White House.
The number of COVID-19 deaths in the US crossed 40,000 and the total infections were more than 7,64,000 so far.
New York, the epicentre of the deadly COVID-19 in the US, has 2,42,000 cases and over 17,600 fatalities so far. It has registered a 50 percent decline in new cases over an eight-day period.
"That's a fantastic climb," Trump said. "That's a beautiful thing to see after going through the opposite."
According to Trump, countries like Italy and Spain, which were initially reluctant in closing their country, had to pay a huge price.
"We would've had millions of people die if we didn't do this,” he said, referring to the earlier projections of massive deaths if there were no social distancing measures and the country was not closed.
“Instead, it looks like we'll be at about a 60,000-mark, which is 40,000 less than the lowest number (1,00,000) thought of," he said. "It's similar to a flu."
The president listed out the steps being taken by his administration on a war footing to address the challenge posed by the pandemic. "We are doing a great job," he said.
‘Thank the American People for Their Selfless Devotion’
Trump highlighted that the situation continued to improve with the declining trajectory of cases in Seattle, Detroit, New Orleans, Indianapolis and Houston Metro areas.
"More evidence that our aggressive strategy is working and I thank the American people for their selfless devotion," he said. "The American people have done a hell of a job. We're saving countless lives."
Trump assured the people that the country was going to be safe.
"We have to be safe. We don't want to close anything. We're not going to be closing, but we're going to be doing it beautifully, systematically," the president said.
Trump pointed out that the administration was working very well with most of the governors.
"A couple of them, no matter what you do, you'll never satisfy them. You could find the cure tomorrow and they wouldn't be satisfied. They'd find a reason to complain; wise guys," he added.
(Published in an arrangement with PTI.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)