Trump admits he urged team to decelerate COVID-19 testing
21 June, 2020
US President Donald Trump said Saturday he was encouraging health officials found in his administration to decelerate tests, arguing that increased lab tests lead to more cases appearing discovered.
The president has claimed falsely on several occasions that surges of COVID-19 in a number of states can be explained by increased diagnostic tests.
At his 1st rally because the outbreak forced nationwide shutdowns in March, Trump told the crowd in Tulsa, Oklahoma that testing was a "double-edged sword."
The US -- which includes more deaths and cases than any other country -- has carried out a lot more than 25 million coronavirus tests, inserting it outside the top 20 countries on the planet, per capita.
"This is actually the bad component: When you do screening to that extent, you will find more persons, you will discover more circumstances," Trump argued.
"So I thought to my persons 'slow the testing down.' They ensure that you they test."
It was not yet determined from Trump's tone if he was playing to the audience, which cheered as he spoke, or perhaps if he had been serious.
However, a White House official informed AFP that Trump "was plainly speaking in jest to contact out the media's absurd coverage. We are top rated the world in screening, and we will be proud to have executed 25 million-plus checks."
Coronavirus instances have spiked in a number of states, including Oklahoma, and localized wellbeing officials had asked Trump to postpone the rally, fearing it would donate to the spread.
Six associates of an advance team working in Tulsa prior to the rally tested great for COVID-19, the Trump campaign said just hours before the president took the stage.
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