Trump news: Bernie Sanders ends campaign as president slams Democrats and says coronavirus must be 'quickly forgotten'
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has hit back at Donald Trump after he threatened to stop US funding to the body as he seeks a scapegoat for the disaster wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, saying the WHO had "missed the call" -- despite himself ignoring a memo from trade adviser Peter Navarro in February warning of the coming storm.
Mr Trump doubled down on his attacks of the WHO during the White House press briefing on Wednesday, saying his administering would "study" if it should pull funding from the group. The US is the largest contributor to the WHO's budget.
When responding to questions about Peter Nevarro's memo alerting the administration to the threat of Covid-19, the president said he was not briefed in January or February about the warning. "Peter sends a lot of memos," he said.
Reopening the country has been a continuous topic between the president and his advisers.
The president was asked if he would readjust when his administration might lift restrictions given how much social distancing regulations have worked to curb the spread of the novel virus.
"We can say we have to be on that down side of that slope," Mr Trump said, referencing the coronavirus curve experts use to show when and how the virus will impact parts of the country.
"We can do it in phases, go to some areas where - you know, some areas are much less affected than others," he added. "But it would be nice to be able to open with a big bang and open up our country, or certainly most of our country."
With the US now suffering 423,135 infections and 14,390 deaths, Mr Trump has said he is sending 200 ventilators to the UK to assist with the British recovery. But assistance has also been sent to states across the US including Colorado, which was set to receive 100 ventilators from the national stockpile.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also attended the White House press briefing to update the public about his office's work to return Americans home amid the pandemic.
He said his department has helped more than 50,000 US citizens return from over 90 countries across the globe.
"We're gonna be done when people can travel on their own again," he said. "We are gonna keep it up as long as we have resources to do it and there is a need."
In New York, the state posted its largest single-day jump in death toll with 779 New Yorkers dying from the novel virus. Hospitalisations are on the decline in the state, but Governor Andrew Cuomo reaffirmed for residents to not grow "complacent" and that social distancing rules would continue for the near future.
Other states like Minnesota, California, and Washington have reported a flattening of their own curves after implementing strict guidelines.
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