Trump says coronavirus crisis 'worse than Pearl Harbor' or 9/11
07 May, 2020
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (May 6) the coronavirus pandemic has been worse for america than Pearl Harbor and 9/11 and renewed his criticism of China, saying the outbreak should have been stopped there.
As Germany unveiled plans for a return to near-normality - including a May 15 restart of the Bundesliga - the EU forecast a historic recession on the virus-battered continent.
Countries in Asia joined Europe, meanwhile, in easing the lockdowns that contain kept swathes of humanity indoors for weeks and pummelled economies, tipping the world toward a recession not seen in decades.
Trump said fallout from the pandemic has hit america harder compared to the Dec 7, 1941 Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor or the Sep 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks on NY and Washington.
"This is very the worst attack we've ever had," Trump told reporters at the White House. "This is worse than Pearl Harbor. That is worse compared to the World Trade Center."
The surprise Japanese attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii drew america into World War II. The 9/11 terrorist attacks killed about 3,000 people, triggering two decades of US wars and anti-terrorism businesses in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries.
Trump also lashed out at China, continuing a war of words over the origins of the deadly virus that emerged in Wuhan this past year.
"It should have never happened," he said. "Might have been stopped at the foundation. Could have been stopped in China."
China hit back on Wednesday at US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over his claims the virus started in a laboratory in Wuhan, saying he doesn't have any evidence.
"This matter should be handed to scientists and doctors, rather than politicians who lie for their own domestic political ends," China's foreign ministry spokeswoman said.
Scientists believe the condition started in animals and jumped to humans - possibly in a Wuhan wet market where wildlife were sold.
'SHOCK WITHOUT PRECEDENT'
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday reported 1,193,813 cases of the new coronavirus, a rise of 22,303 cases from its previous count, and said that the amount of deaths had risen by 2,523 to 70,802.
The CDC predicted on Wednesday that the toll in the US was on track to top 100,000 by the finish of May.
Tom Frieden warned US lawmakers to brace for a "long and difficult" war against the virus and urged dramatically expanding testing to rein in the pandemic.
"Until we have a highly effective vaccine, unless something unexpected happens, our viral enemy will be with us for most months or years," Frieden said.
The pandemic has killed a lot more than 260,000 people globally and officially infected practically 3.7 million, although with limited testing the quantity is thought to be far higher.
Europe makes up about the lion's share of deaths and infections, though hardest hit Britain, Italy, Spain and France have started a levelling from new cases and fatalities.
On the monetary front, the news was less optimistic.
The eurozone economy is forecast to contract by a staggering 7.7 % this season, EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Paulo Gentiloni said.
"Europe is facing an monetary shock without precedent because the Great Depression," Gentiloni warned.
Governments are seeking to regenerate their economies by slowly lifting lockdown measures that have hemmed in more than 4.6 billion persons worldwide - while avoiding a deadly second wave of the virus.
Germany will allow all students back again to school this month, all shops to resume business and even restart the Bundesliga - though it could remain spectator-free for the present time.
Germany's top-flight will become the first of Europe's major football leagues to come back to the field.
In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said some lockdown measures could be scaled back from in a few days, though he warned against moving too briskly.
"It could be an economic disaster for this country if we were to pursue a relaxation of these measures now in such a way as to trigger another spike," said Johnson, who was simply himself treated in hospital for the virus.
THE UNITED KINGDOM on Tuesday overtook Italy for the highest number of deaths in Europe, and is currently second following the US when it comes to fatalities.
SPANISH LOCKDOWN EXTENDED
France is inching towards a May 11 deadline to allow some schools to open again after almost 8 weeks out, while Spanish lawmakers extended a state of emergency keeping lockdown measures in place for at least two more weeks.
The vote came as Spain said foreign tourist arrivals plummeted by 64 % in March, a major blow to an integral economic lifeline.
In Washington, Trump, who is wanting to get the world's biggest economy restarted as he seeks reelection on November, said reopening was important.
"We need to get our country open again," he said. "People want to return and you will are having issues unless you do it."
Trump also backpedaled on scrapping his coronavirus task force after Vice President Mike Pence suggested it may be done away with by early June.
As Trump weighed reopening the united states, some students in Wuhan were back in class on Wednesday.
But there have been new regulations to get accustomed to: face masks, thermal scanners and desks spaced apart or separated by screens.
Elsewhere in Asia, signs of life returned in South Korea, once home to the region's second worst outbreak after China.
Workers went back to any office and museums and libraries opened again.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
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