Can you find any numbers to back up your claims?
“Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar insisted in a Monday interview that “nobody is trying to minimize” the risks of coronavirus, arguing it was a “very serious public health threat.” But minutes later, his boss, President Donald Trump, posted a tweet appearing to suggest the opposite.
“This is a very serious health problem. Nobody is trying to minimize that,” Azar said in an interview with Fox News. “It is a very serious public health threat to the people of the United States, and that’s why President Trump from day one has been aggressive with a whole of government approach and will continue to do so,” he insisted.
Then, just a few minutes later, Trump weighed in with a tweet, suggesting inaccurately that coronavirus (or COVID-19) is less of a threat than the common flu.
“So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on,” the president posted to Twitter. “At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!”
While there are tens of thousands of cases of flu deaths in the U.S. annually, Trump’s assessment disregards the higher death rate that results from coronavirus. While the seasonal flu has a death rate of about 0.1 percent, the World Health Organization has said that 3.4 percent of those confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 have died.
Health experts have estimated, however, that the overall death rate from coronavirus is around 2 percent. They have noted that many cases in which people have mild symptoms have not been reported or confirmed. Regardless, 2 percent and 3.4 percent are both higher than 0.1 percent.”
“Trump tried to minimize the threat of the virus from the outset and in recent days has vacillated between acknowledging the crisis and suggesting that it would all soon be over.”
https://www.seattlepi.com/news/medi...mp-struggles-to-adjust-to-crisis-15151713.php