Donald Trump compares COVID-19 with flu, says people'll have to 'learn to live with it'

US President Donald Trump, on October 6, downplayed the severity of COVID-19 by likening it to seasonal flu and said that people have to learn to live with it. Taking to Twitter, he wrote that many people die from flu every year but that does not mean that the country should be shut down. Asserting that COVID-19 was “far less lethal” than flu, he said people were learning to live with the coronavirus just as they did with flu. 

His remarks came just a day after he was discharged from the Walter Reed Medical Centre military hospital facility where he was admitted after having been diagnosed with COVID-19 on October 5. Earlier in the day, he told Americans to ‘get out there’ and not fear COVID-19. After returning on October 5, Trump in an unusual decision climbed up to the South Portico stairs, instead of the elevators, to go to his residence. After taking off the mask, the US President stood up in the portico facing South Lawns for a few minutes and saluted Marine One. 

In a recorded video message, Trump, while referring to the deadly virus, said, “Don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it”. He added, “We’re going back, we’re going back to work. We’re going to be out front. Don’t let it dominate your lives. Get out there, be careful”. 

Trumps test COVID-19 positive

United States President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the Coronavirus on Friday after one of the President's close aides got infected with the virus. This situation came with barely a month to go for the US Presidential Elections which are to take place on November 3.

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Taking to Twitter to reveal his diagnosis, the US President had said that he will begin his quarantine and recovery process immediately with his wife. "We will get through this TOGETHER!," Trump had said. On the second day of his testing positive, Trump was flown to a military hospital. The White House had said that he was expected to stay at the hospital for a few days and would continue to work from the hospital’s presidential suite to discharge his official duties.

Read: Trump Says He's Leaving Hospital: 'Feeling Better Than 20 Years Ago; Don't Fear Covid'

Read: 'Don't Be Afraid': Trump Returns To White House, Asks People To 'get Out There' Amid COVID

Image: AP