Trump ‘angry at China’; US reports biggest daily COVID cases
WASHINGTON (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was growing “more and more angry at China” over the spread of the coronavirus, as American health officials warned they were not in “total” control of the pandemic.
“As I watch the pandemic spread its ugly face all across the world, including the tremendous damage it has done to the USA, I become more and more angry at China,” Trump tweeted.
The global pandemic, which Trump blames on Beijing, has intensified already strong tensions between the two countries over an ongoing trade war.
Trump’s Twitter broadside came as new US COVID-19 cases rose by more than 47,000 on Tuesday, the biggest oneday spike since the start of the pandemic, as the government’s top infectious disease expert warned that number could soon double. The US also recorded recorded 1,199 fatalities over 24 hours.
California, Texas and Arizona have emerged as new US epicenters of the pandemic, reporting record increases in COVID-19 cases.
“Clearly we are not in total control right now,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases, told a US Senate committee. “I am very concerned because it could get very bad.” Fauci said the daily increase in new cases could reach 100,000 unless a nationwide push was made to tamp down the resurgent virus.
The US has suffered more than 127,000 deaths overall and recorded more than 2.6 million cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The fresh rise in cases has dimmed hopes that the worst of the human and economic pain had passed, prompting renewed criticism of Trump as he seeks re-election on Nov. 3.