US President Donald Trump has once again lashed out at China. In his latest jibe, Trump has said China’s real death toll from coronavirus was “far higher,” even after officials issued a new count sharply raising the number of dead in Wuhan, where the pandemic began.
Trump’s latest accusation is in line with an increasingly hostile atmosphere between Washington and Beijing over blame for the coronavirus and ensuing economic chaos.
“China has just announced a doubling in the number of their deaths from the Invisible Enemy. It is far higher than that and far higher than the U.S., not even close!” Trump tweeted.
China has just announced a doubling in the number of their deaths from the Invisible Enemy. It is far higher than that and far higher than the U.S., not even close!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020
He appeared to be referring to Wuhan’s abrupt increase in the death toll by 50 percent, though not “doubling,” as Trump claimed.
The new toll followed growing world doubts about Chinese transparency.
Officials said they had added 1,290 deaths to the tally in the city, which has suffered the vast majority of China’s officially recognized fatalities from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
