US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Rochester International Airport in Rochester, Minnesota on October on 30, 2020. (AFP photo)
US President Donald Trump has accused doctors of profiting from COVID-19 deaths while cases, hospitalizations and deaths surge across the country.
The United States set a new record for coronavirus cases confirmed in a single 24-hour period on Friday, reporting more than 100,000 new infections, according to a Reuters tally.
"Our doctors get more money if someone dies from COVID. You know that, right? I mean our doctors are very smart people. So what they do is they say Im sorry but everybody dies of COVID, "Trump said on Friday while peaking at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He did not cite any evidence to substantiate his claims.
He also slammed Democratic governors who have imposed restrictions to slow the coronaviruss spread, and warned Biden would not to allow gatherings for holidays or other special occasions if elected the president of the United States.
"Youve got to open up your state and youve got to do it fast!" Trump, who has repeatedly downplayed the virus, told his supporters, many of whom were not wearing masks.
Biden: Trump has surrendered to the virus
Meanwhile, Trumps Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, said on Friday that the president has surrendered to the pandemic.
Biden accused the incumbent president of "giving up" in the fight against the coronavirus and advised him to avoid attacking medical personnel who are treating the victims.
"Unlike Donald Trump, we will not surrender to this virus," he said at a rally in St. Paul, Minnesota, referring to the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed nearly 230,000 people in the United States and cost millions more their jobs.
With just three days to go before the November 3 election, the United States faces a record surge of coronavirus cases as the country passed nine million reported coronavirus cases on Friday, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.
US reports world record of 100,000 COVID-19 cases in single day
More than 100,000 people tested positive on Friday, pushing hospitals to the brink of capacity.
The new infections on Friday surpassed the record total of 91,000 posted on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally.
"We are not ready for this wave," said Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, Rhode Island.
Jha said that the US is not "quite prepared" as it does not have the right kind of testing.
"We are having some of the largest outbreaks that weve had during the entire pandemic. And nine, 10 months into this pandemic, we are still largely not quite prepared," he said.
"We dont have the kind of testing that we need. There are a lot of problems with large outbreaks happening in many, many different parts of the country. And of course, were going into the fall and winter, which will, of course, make things very, very difficult," Jha told Reuters in an interview.
This comes as much of the countrys attention is focused on Tuesdays presidential election.
Trump is under harsh criticism over his mishandling of the pandemic which has made the US the hardest-hit country by the pandemic.
The president, however, claimed at a campaign rally last week that the pandemic was going to "end quickly."
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/21005
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