US politics: Donald Trump says he asked authorities to reduce coronavirus testing rates

The US President admitted he asked health authorities to change procedures and called the virus “Kung flu” during a rally with supporters.

President Donald Trump has revealed he told health officials in his administration to reduce the rate of testing for coronavirus, claiming more tests leads to more cases.

The US President has falsely stated on a number of occasions that surges in COVID-19 in several states is due to increased diagnostic testing.

Speaking at his first re-election rally since the outbreak of the pandemic he told supporters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, testing was a “double-edged sword”.

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The United States has felt the full destructive and tragic force of the pandemic with about 120,000 deaths recorded and 2.3 million infections, by far the highest in the world.

US President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Picture: Nicholas Kamm / AFP

“Here is the bad part: When you do testing to that extent, you are going to find more people, you will find more cases,” Mr Trump said, of the virus he derogatively referred to during his rally as the “Chinese virus” and “Kung flu”.

“So I said to my people ‘slow the testing down.’ They test and they test.

“All of the horrible, horrible death that was so needlessly caused by a virus that should have been stopped where it originated, which was China.”

The upper section of the arena is seen partially empty as US President Donald Trump speaks. Picture: Nicholas Kamm / AFP

Following the rally, White House officials told AFP that President Trump “was clearly speaking in jest to call out the media’s absurd coverage. We are leading the world in testing, and we are proud to have conducted 25 million plus tests.”

Coronavirus cases have spiked in several states, including Oklahoma, and local health officials had asked Mr Trump to postpone the rally, fearing it would contribute to the spread.

Demonstrators march near the BOK Center where President Trump is holding a campaign rally in Tulsa. Picture: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

INFECTIONS RISE IN US

The United States lost a further 568 people to coronavirus in the 24 hours leading up to 8:30pm Saturday (0030 GMT Sunday), according a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

It marked the 10th day in which the daily toll from the virus has been fewer than 1,000, even as the US remains the country hardest-hit by the pandemic.

Some 20 states have seen a rebound in infections as the epicentre of the country’s outbreak has moved from New York and the country’s Northeast to the South and West.

After dipping below 20,000 new daily confirmed cases recently, the figure has crept back up towards 30,000 and beyond in recent days.

In Florida, a state critical for Mr Trump’s re-election, a new record was set for daily case increases with 4000 on the weekend.

There are fears of a second wave of COVID-19 infections following state reopenings and massive anti-racism protests around the country in recent weeks.

— with wires