COVID-19: Trump claims China's actual death toll 'way ahead' of US

After 1,300 more casualties were added to the official death toll of coronavirus outbreak in  Wuhan, US President Donald Trump expressed his doubt over the reported figures by the Chinese government. On April 18, Trump claimed that way more people died in China than in the US due to COVID-19 disease. Just two days ago, China revised its death toll and made the number of nationwide deaths due to the pandemic to 4,600. However, as of April 19, US has recorded the highest deaths in the world due to coronavirus outbreak, 39,015. But Trump has said that “we are not number one, China is number one”. 

"We are not number one; China is number one just so you understand," Trump told reporters at a White House. "They are way ahead of us in terms of death. It’s not even close."

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The US President even cited that the highly-developed healthcare systems in European countries including France, Belgium, Italy, who still reported a higher death rate while it was just 0.33% in China.  According to US President, the Chinese death toll figures are “unrealistic” and asserted yet again that the actual number was way ahead. Trump said, “you know it, I know it, and they know it”.  Trump also stressed that on a per-capita basis, the mortality rate in the US was far less than that of other nations in western Europe. 

"You know it, I know it and they know it, but you don’t want to report it. Why?" the US President asked. "You will have to explain that. Someday I will explain it."

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Three-phase plan to re-open US

In the belief that the coronavirus outbreak in the United States has “passed the peak”, country’s President Donald Trump has announced a three-phase plan to re-open America for “rejuvenation of economy” on April 17. Giving most control over the decision to the state governors, Trump administration has chosen to shelter more vulnerable individuals from the risk of contracting COVID-19 disease, instead of continuing the "blanket shutdown". The White House has released the entire plan in three phases based on state or regional “gating criteria”.

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