U.S. President Donald Trump said he disagrees with the assessment of top immunologist, Anthony Fauci, on why the country has continued to see a surge in coronavirus cases while European countries have seen a sharp decrease.
Fauci, while speaking before a House coronavirus panel Friday about the need for a national comprehensive plan to address the pandemic, explained that most European countries shut their economy by 95%, while functionally the U.S. only shut its economy down by 50%.
The top infectious disease expert also observed some states followed CDC guidelines when the U.S. reopened, while others didn’t. He said this has led to a surge in cases in many southern and western states.
“There are some states that did it very well, there are some states that did not,” Fauci said.
However, President Trump in a tweet on Saturday said Dr. Fauci’s assessment was wrong.
The US president noted that the country is having more cases of coronavirus than any other country because they tested “far more.”
“Wrong! We have more cases because we have tested far more than any other country, 60,000,000. If we tested less, there would be less cases. How did Italy, France & Spain do? Now Europe sadly has flare-ups. Most of our governors worked hard & smart. We will come back STRONG!,” Trump wrote.
However, more than 25,000 Americans died in July as COVID-19 cases doubled in 19 states during the month.
According to a Reuters tally, the United States recorded 1.87 million new cases in July, bringing total infections to 4.5 million for an increase of 69%.
Deaths in July rose 20% to nearly 154,000 in total.
