Coronavirus: Trump accepts medical aid from Russia has U.S. death toll surpasses China’s

Putin sending medical supplies to help U.S. fight coronavirus

The death toll in the United States from the new coronavirus outbreak has surpassed the official tally in China, with more than more 3,400 fatalities recorded, according to data collected by the Johns Hopkins University.

That means the US now has the third highest death toll after Italy and Spain, and the highest number of coronavirus cases in the world with more than 175,000.

Further restrictions on movement are being considered in the US to curb the spread of the virus, with the country now reporting twice the number of cases as China where the outbreak began late last year.

Russia is sending the United States medical equipment to help fight the coronavirus

US President Donald Trump has accepted an offer from Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide medical equipment, the Interfax news agency reported.

Russia is sending the United States medical equipment to help fight the coronavirus outbreak, citing the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

President Vladimir Putin made the proposal in a phone conversation with President Donald Trump on Monday, when they discussed the coronavirus and oil markets, directing their energy ministers to speak. Washington has said that Trump and Putin agreed importance of stabilising the global energy markets. This helped to steady oil prices on Tuesday, which are still near 18-year lows as the coronavirus hits global demand.

“Trump gratefully accepted this humanitarian aid,” Interfax quoted Peskov as saying. A Russian plane with medical and protective equipment may leave for the United States on Tuesday, he added.

The state of relations between Moscow and Washington has been complicated in recent years due to U.S. sanctions on some of Russian companies in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and Russian support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, among other strains.

Peskov said “On the Russian side, against the background of the grave epidemiological situation in America, assistance was offered in the form of medical equipment and protective means,” he claimed “Trump gratefully accepted this humanitarian aid.”

Peskov goes on to say, “It is important to note that when offering assistance to the U.S. colleagues, the president (Putin) assumes that when U.S. manufacturers of medical equipment and materials gain momentum, they will also be able to reciprocate if necessary,” he added.

He also said that Russia and China cooperated in a similar way now as “at a time when the current situation affects everyone without exception …, there is no alternative to working together in a spirit of partnership and mutual assistance”.

Adversary’s closer to home

However, former US president Barack Obama took a thinly veiled swipe at Donald Trump’s handling of the outbreak. Obama took to Twitter as Trump finalised a controversial rollback of the previous administration’s vehicle fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards.

“We’ve seen all too terribly the consequences of those who denied warnings of a pandemic,” Obama tweeted. “We can’t afford any more consequences of climate denial. All of us, especially young people, have to demand better of our government at every level and vote this fall.”

Obama’s Twitter post included a link to a story about the White House’s new policy.

We’ve seen all too terribly the consequences of those who denied warnings of a pandemic. We can’t afford any more consequences of climate denial. All of us, especially young people, have to demand better of our government at every level and vote this fall. https://t.co/K8Ucu7iVDK

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 31, 2020

Trump and his government have faced criticism for failing to heed warning signs about the outbreak, particularly after death tolls surged in China and Italy.

The United States now has more than 175,000 confirmed infections, the most of any country in the world, and the death toll has surpassed China’s, with more than 3,400 people dying of the virus.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday that the number of people in New York who have tested positive for the coronavirus increased to 9,298 from a day earlier, making the total cases rise to 75,795, with deaths rising by 27 per cent to 1,550. “The virus is more powerful, more dangerous than we expected,” Cuomo told a daily news briefing.

“We’re still going up the mountain, the main battle is on top of the mountain.” Cuomo doubled down on his plea to healthcare professionals from across the United States to help the state’s overwhelmed hospitals deal with the surge in coronavirus cases.

During Tuesday’s press conference, Cuomo also disclosed that his brother, CNN television anchor Chris Cuomo, had tested positive for the disease caused by the virus.

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