On July 12, President Donald Trump once again visited his golf course in Sterling, Virginia. But this time he was greeted by a protester that was dressed up as the Grim Reaper.
The protester was holding up a sign that read "137K" which represents the 137,000 Americans that died of COVID-19.
Thousands of COVID-19 deaths
The photo of the protester immediately went viral online. On July 12, 137,000 Americans died of COVID-19 and it was the same day Florida reported 15,299 new cases of coronavirus, which is the highest reported cases in a single day by any state.
US President Donald Trump also went golfing on that day, which marked his 276th visit to his golf course since he became president. Forbes reported that by comparison, former President Barack Obama only went golfing 113 times out of the 8 years that he sat in office.
President Trump responded to the backlash that he received for playing golf while the pandemic worsens in the United States.
Robert Reich, the former Secretary of Labor tweeted that a horrifying fact of the Trump administration's response to the pandemic is that in the past two months, Trump has played golf more times than he has met with Dr. Fauci.
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Trump then tweeted that he knows many people in politics and business that works as it is their number one passion in life and that nobody complains about it. He said that playing golf is his form of exercise and he does do it during the week. He also stated that it was just a quick round of golf and that Obama played more and much longer rounds.
Trump added that when he plays, CNN and other "fake news" media do everything to take his picture. He said that it does not take hours for him to play because he does it fast and that he still works even though he is on the golf course.
On July 4, during Trump's Independence Day speech, he tried to play down the seriousness of the pandemic. He said that they have tested 40 million people and that 99% of the COVID-19 cases are harmless. He also said that no other country has tested as fast as they have.
However, according to the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC, around 35% of the COVID-19 cases are asymptomatic.
On July 4, John Hopkins reported that the estimated fatality rate of the infected Americans was 4.6% On July 5, the commissioner of the U.S Food and Drug Administration and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Dr. Stephen Hahn, was asked if Trump's comments on the coronavirus pandemic were accurate. He said that he is not going to get into "who is right and who is wrong."
Coronavirus in the US
The COVID-19 cases in the United States is showing no signs of stopping. In Florida, 15, 299 people were infected on Sunday. This came after businesses decided to reopen and no social distancing rules were followed.
Anti-mask protesters also contributed to the spread of the virus in the country as they kept throwing parties since the Independence Day weekend, according to Mercury News.
Meanwhile, California, New Mexico, and Oregon have put restrictions on dining in order to observe the guidelines set by the CDC and help slow down the spread of the virus in the said states.
According to CNN, fitness centers, place of worship, hair salons, personal care services, offices for non-critical sectors and malls will be temporarily closed.
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