WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th July, 2020) The fact US President Donald Trump has highlighted the decline in COVDI-19 mortality does not mean the president is downplaying the crisis, White House spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany told reporters on Monday.
During an Independence Day speech over the weekend, Trump said that 99% of COVID-19 cases are "totally" harmless. Earlier on Monday, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo urged Trump to stop being a coronavirus "coconspirator" and start publicly acknowledging the severity of the crisis.
"The President is not downplaying the severity of the virus," McEnany said during a briefing. "What the President is noting is that at the height of this pandemic we were at 2,500 deaths per day... On July 4, there were 254. That's a ten-fold decrease in mortality."
She explained that the President made clear that "we grieve when just one life is lost," but he also wants to note "the progress... in treating this very serious virus."
