US To Deploy Thousands Of Medics To Help Counter COVID-19 - Trump

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th April, 2020) The United States will deploy thousands of military medical personnel to fight the coronavirus epidemic in the country, US President Donald Trump said in a White House press briefing.

"I can also report that 1,000 military personnel are deploying to New York City to assist, where they are needed the most, that's the hottest of all, the hotspots. ... We're getting doctors, nurses, respiratory specialists and other support workers, this is from the military," Trump said.

The US state of New York has recorded its largest daily increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases as 10,841 positive tests were reported on Saturday, with the death toll also rising by 630, according to State Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Cuomo confirmed that 10,841 new cases of the disease have been registered, raising the total number of cases reported in the state since the start of the outbreak to 113,704.

The COVID-19 death toll in the state of New York now stands at 3,565. About 15,905 people are currently receiving treatment for the disease in hospital, and 4,126 of those are currently in intensive care units.

New York has become the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the US, which itself has reported more than double the amount of cases than any other country.

Meanwhile, Trump also urged the US media to not spread rumors about coronavirus to avoid panic among the population.

Earlier in the day, the US president accused on Twitter the CNN broadcaster of spreading fake news, however, he did not specify the exact cause of his criticism. He had also previously slammed the New York Times and the Washington Post newspapers.

According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 301,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the United States with over 8,000 fatal cases. Over 14,000 patients have recovered.