Trump says US topped 1 million coronavirus cases due to testing capacity
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.
As coronavirus cases in the United States topped 1 million Tuesday, President Trump said it was because more patients have been tested than other nations.
“The only reason the U.S. has reported one million cases of CoronaVirus is that our Testing is sooo much better than any other country in the World,” Trump tweeted early Wednesday. “Other countries are way behind us in Testing, and therefore show far fewer cases!”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Trump Monday released the White House’s plan to expand testing across the U.S.
U.S. CORONAVIRUS CASES SURPASS 1 MILLION, DEATH TOLL CLIMBS PAST 37,000
“All parts of the country are in good shape and getting better,” Trump said. “We are continually expanding our testing capacity and are hopeful that we’ll be reopening soon.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The U.S. is far ahead of other virus-stricken countries like Spain, Italy, France and the U.K. in the total number of cases, but has a much larger population.
China has reported nearly 83,000 cases, but the government has been accused of underreporting and a study by Hong Kong researchers claimed the country’s cases may be four times the official number.
Trump has been criticized by Democrats for downplaying the threat of the virus when it first appeared in the U.S. in January and for not acting fast enough in distributing tests to states. Many states are still struggling with a lack of testing kits.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The U.S. has tested 5.7 million people for the virus in total, CNBC reported.
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
Trump Tuesday told reporters the U.S. will “very soon” be able to test 5 million people per day. “We’ll increase it, and it’ll increase it by much more than that in the very near future.”