Coronavirus ‘blessing’

WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump declared that catching the coronavirus was a ‘‘blessing from God’’ that exposed him to experimental treatments he vowed would become free for all Americans, in a video address released yesterday.

Trump, eager to revitalise his ailing reelection campaign two days after his release from Walter Reed military hospital, repeatedly stressed how well he felt so far in his recovery from Covid19.

It was unclear if he was still testing positive for the virus.

‘‘I think this was a blessing from God that I caught it.

‘‘This was a blessing in disguise,’’ Trump said, adding that his use of the medication from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc had allowed him to experience firsthand effective it could be.

Trump, who has been widely criticised for a slow response to the pandemic that has killed more than 210,000 Americans and putting his own staff at risk by discouraging the use of masks in the White House and on the campaign trail, also cited similar medication from Eli Lilly and Co.

‘‘I want to get for you what I got. And I'm going to make it free,’’ Trump said, at one point calling the unapproved medicine a ‘‘cure’’.

The timing of the video’s recording was unclear. Its release followed White House assurances that the 74yearold president was back at the Oval Office yesterday, getting briefed about economic stimulus talks and Hurricane Delta. — Reuters

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