Trump ‘more and more angry at China’ as US coronavirus cases rise by 47,000 in biggest daily spike
- US president escalates row with Beijing over coronavirus pandemic with new Twitter post
- US government’s top infectious disease specialist warned infections could rise to 100,000 a day
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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 one-day 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 The United States recorded 1,199 fatalities over 24 hours.
California, Texas and Arizona have emerged as new US epicentres of the pandemic, reporting record increases in Covid-19 cases.
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“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.”
China has accused Trump’s administration of politicising the pandemic to deflect from its own handling of the illness, with the United States suffering by far the highest death toll of any country.
The country 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 and hospitalisations 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 November 3.
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His rival, Democrat Joe Biden said that Trump’s “historic mismanagement” of the pandemic cost lives and inflicted more damage than necessary to the US economy.
“It didn’t have to be this way. Donald Trump failed us,” the 77-year-old former vice-president said in a speech in Delaware, where he unveiled an updated plan to tackle the pandemic calling for more testing and the hiring of 100,000 contract tracers.
In the past week California, Texas and Florida have moved to close recently reopened bars, which public health officials believe are likely one of the larger contributors to the recent spikes.
On Tuesday, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut added travellers from California and seven other states to those who must self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. Texas and Florida were named last week.
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South Carolina also has also emerged as a hot spot, reporting a record single-day increase of 1,755 cases on Tuesday.
In Texas, where the number of new cases jumped to a one-day record of 6,975 on Tuesday, Houston hospitals said beds were quickly filling up with Covid-19 patients.
Dr Marc Boom, chief executive of Houston Methodist Hospital, told CNN that his hospital beds have seen a “very significant” increase in Covid-19 patients, although the death rate has lowered.
Boom said he was worried about Independence Day celebrations this weekend, when Americans traditionally flock to beaches and campgrounds to watch fireworks displays.
Additional reporting by Reuters
