Coronavirus: Donald Trump marks country’s ‘very sad’ virus milestone on Twitter

Donald Trump has marked the “very sad milestone” of 100,000 coronavirus deaths in the US with a Twitter message to grieving families.

US President Donald Trump has marked the “sad milestone” of 100,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States, after his earlier silence prompted criticism that he was failing in his duty to console victims and their loved ones.

“We have just reached a very sad milestone with the coronavirus pandemic deaths reaching 100,000,” Trump posted on Twitter, about 16 hours after the death toll passed the threshold according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker.

“To all of the families & friends of those who have passed, I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy & love for everything that these great people stood for & represent. God be with you!”

The US death toll, from 1.7 million confirmed infections, is by far the highest of any nation, and critics have accused the president of an inadequate early response to the pandemic.

We have just reached a very sad milestone with the coronavirus pandemic deaths reaching 100,000. To all of the families & friends of those who have passed, I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy & love for everything that these great people stood for & represent. God be with you!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2020

Mr Trump has repeatedly said any death from COVID-19 is tragic. But he has been chided for appearing to concern himself more with the country digging out from economic devastation than consoling tens of thousands of American families shattered by the loss of loved ones.

He has also been criticised for repeatedly offering unduly optimistic predictions about the final death count, only to be quickly contradicted each time by the relentlessly rising toll.

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Mr Trump described the country’s death toll passing 100,000 as a “sad milestone”. Picture: AP/Andrew Harnik

The virus has infected more than 5.7 million people worldwide and killed over 355,000, with the US having the most confirmed cases and deaths. Picture: Valerie Macon/AFP

Businesses are gradually reopening across the country, but many remain closed. Picture: Apu Gomes/AFP

2.1 MILLION WORKERS APPLY FOR BENEFITS

Mr Trump’s tweet came as the government revealed an estimated 2.1 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week despite the gradual reopening of businesses around the country.

It brings the running total since the coronavirus shutdowns took hold in mid-March to about 41 million.

In a glimmer of hope, the number of those now collecting benefits in the US fell for the first time since the crisis began, from 25 million to 21 million, suggesting some companies are starting to rehire.

Still, the Labor Department report underscored the continuing economic damage from the viral outbreak that has killed more Americans than in the Vietnam and Korean wars combined.

The US unemployment rate was 14.7 per cent in April, a level not seen since the Depression, and many economists expect it will be near 20 per cent in May.

Economists say many of the jobs lost are never coming back, and double-digit unemployment could persist through 2021.