Spain opens border to UK tourists; Trump wants less testing

एबीसी / संवाददाता

Madrid, June 21:

Spain reopened its borders to British tourists on Sunday in a bid to kickstart its economy while Brazil and South Africa struggled with rising levels of coronavirus infections. At a campaign rally, President Donald Trump said he told his government to reduce U.S. testing for the virus, an apparent attempt to avoid unflattering statistics.

The head of the World Health Organization has warned that the virus’s global spread is accelerating after a daily high of 150,000 new cases was reported last week.

The new coronavirus has infected nearly 8.8 million people and killed more than 464,000, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The true number is thought to be much higher because many cases go untested.

At a campaign rally in Tulsa Oklahoma, Trump said Saturday he has told his administration to slow down virus testing. He said the United States has tested 25 million people, but the “bad part” is that it found more cases.

“When you do testing to that extent, you’re going to find more people, you’re going to find more cases,” Trump said. “So I said to my people, ‘Slow the testing down, please.’″

The infections would still exist, of course, but Trump’s campaign would not have to be embarrassed at how many infections and deaths were actually occurring in the United States, which tops the world by far in both categories. Health experts say not knowing about coronavirus cases should increase the overall number of cases because infected people won’t know that they should quarantine themselves to protect their loved ones.

The outbreak has infected 2.2 million people in the United States, killing nearly 120,000, according to Johns Hopkins.

The campaign of Joe Biden, Trump’s Democratic rival in November’s presidential election, accused Trump of “putting politics ahead of the safety and economic well-being of the American people.”

As European governments eased more lockdown restrictions, virus case numbers are rising in South Africa, Brazil, the United States and other countries.

Brazil’s Health Ministry said Saturday the total number of cases had risen by more than 50,000 from the previous day. President Jair Bolsonaro has been downplaying the risks despite nearly 50,000 fatalities in three months, the second-highest death toll in the world after the United States.

South Africa reported a one-day high of 4,966 new cases on Saturday and 46 deaths. Despite the increase, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a further loosening of one of the world’s strictest lockdowns. Casinos, beauty salons and sit-down restaurant service will be allowed to reopen.