In exchange, China pledged to buy, over two years, at least US$200 billion more in American goods and services than it did in 2017, including about US$40 billion in agricultural goods.
At Sunday evening’s town hall, Trump also addressed the question about the origin of the coronavirus, which has so far infected more than 3.5 million people and killed more than 245,000 around the world.
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He stayed away from the allegation – which scientists have described as highly unlikely – that the virus originated in a Wuhan lab but suggested China had intentionally let the virus spread beyond its borders.
“Personally I think [China] made a horrible mistake. They tried to cover it up. It’s really like [they were] trying to put out a fire. They couldn't put out the fire,” Trump said.
“What China really treated the world badly on was, they stopped people going into China, but they didn't stop people going into the USA and all over the world,” he said. “You couldn't fly out of Wuhan to go to Beijing and or to any place in China... you could fly out of Wuhan, where the primary problem was, to different parts of the world. What’s that all about?”
Trump said a “case could be made, that China said, ‘hey, look, this is going to have a huge impact on China, we might as well let the rest of the world [have the problem too]’.” He also said “a very strong report” would be delivered soon “as to exactly what we think happened. And I think it'll be very conclusive”.
The administration is now pursuing investigations about the origins of the coronavirus, making the Wuhan Institute of Virology the centre of a number of conspiracy theories. Analysts have recently said Trump could wield it as a weapon to deflect attention from his China-friendly comments earlier in the outbreak if evidence surfaced proving such a theory.
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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that there was “enormous evidence” that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a laboratory in Wuhan. “I think the whole world can see now, remember, China has a history of infecting the world and running substandard laboratories,” he said on ABC’s This Week.
Meanwhile, the US is formulating a raft of measures to hold China responsible for the pandemic’s damage that includes sanctions, cancelling US debt obligations and drawing up new trade policies.
As the presidential election draws near, the pandemic – which brought the US economy to a near standstill, has also made , leading the two to fire shots at each other.
Trump’s super PAC released a TV ad campaign in April painting Joe Biden as soft on China. The Biden campaign rebutted in videos, hitting Trump for eliminating US pandemic preparedness resources and for praising China's “efforts and transparency” in its virus response.
and get a 10% discount (original price US$400) off the China AI Report 2020 by SCMP Research. Learn about the AI ambitions of Alibaba, Baidu & JD.com through our in-depth case studies, and explore new applications of AI across industries. The report also includes exclusive access to webinars to interact with C-level executives from leading China AI companies (via live Q&A sessions). Offer valid until 31 May 2020.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Sunday (May 4) he now believes as many as 100,000 Americans could die in the COVID-19 pandemic, after the death toll passed his earlier estimates, but said he was confident a vaccine would be developed by the year's end.
Trump alternated during a two-hour virtual town hall broadcast by FOX News between forecasting a rapid recovery for the US economy and casting blame for the pandemic's spread on China, where the disease is believed to have originated.
The COVID-19 illness, caused by the new coronavirus, has sickened more than 1.1 million in the United States and killed more than 67,000 Americans, shut wide swaths of society, including most schools and many businesses.
"We're going to lose anywhere from 75, 80 to 100,000 people. That's a horrible thing," said Trump, who as recently on Friday had said he hoped fewer than 100,000 Americans would die and earlier in the week had talked about 60,000 to 70,000 deaths.
About half the states have now moved toward at least partial lifting of shutdowns as the number of new cases of the COVID-19 illness has begun to drop or level off and as citizens agitate for relief from restrictions that have sent the economy into a tailspin.
"We can't stay closed as a country (or) we're not gonna have a country left," Trump said.
Trump has criticized FOX recently, casting the conservative-leaning network as insufficiently supportive. He faced few tough questions in the event, which gave him a new format to reach the public while he is unable to hold campaign rallies and after he faced widespread criticism for his combative daily briefings.
In an assessment that clashes with those of some public health experts, Trump said he believed that by the end of the year there would be a vaccine against COVID-19.
"I think we’re going to have a vaccine by the end of the year. The doctors would say, well you shouldn't say that," Trump said. "I'll say what I think ... I think we’ll have a vaccine sooner than later."
Many health experts, including Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, have cautioned that a vaccine is likely a year to 18 months away.
There is an "incredibly small" chance of having a highly effective vaccine or treatment for the coronavirus within the next year, England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said on Apr 22.
Trump also said he wanted students to return to schools and colleges in the autumn, even as he acknowledged the possibility of a resurgence of the disease.
"We'll put out the embers, we'll put out whatever it may be. We may have to put out a fire," he said.
Speaking the day before the Senate returns to Washington, Trump said it was possible that federal coronavirus aid could rise to US$6 trillion from the nearly US$3 trillion Congress has already passed to try to ease the heavy economic toll of the crisis.
"There is more help coming. There has to be," he said.
US President Donald Trump went to the Lincoln Memorial to relaunch his campaign and call for an end to the pandemic lockdown AFP/JIM WATSON
Democrats have made clear they want to provide a sizable rescue package for state and local governments as part of a broader bill - one that could total over US$2 trillion - while some Republicans criticized the idea as unreasonably expensive.
"We will be doing infrastructure and I told Steve (Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin) just today we are not doing anything unless we get a payroll tax cut," Trump said.
Trump, who has been criticized for not moving faster early in the year to stop the spread of the disease, sought to blunt the criticism by blaming China.
Trump said China had made a "horrible mistake" without saying precisely what this was or providing specific evidence for his assertion.
Earlier in the day, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there was "a significant amount of evidence" that COVID-19 emerged from a Chinese laboratory, but did not dispute US intelligence agencies' conclusion that it was not man-made.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday reported 1,122,486 US cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 29,671 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 1,452 to 65,735.
The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus, as of 4pm EDT on Saturday, compared with its count a day earlier.
The CDC figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states. The tally reported over the weekend is preliminary and will be updated on Monday.
In exchange, China pledged to buy, over two years, at least US$200 billion more in American goods and services than it did in 2017, including about US$40 billion in agricultural goods.
At Sunday evening’s town hall, Trump also addressed the question about the origin of the coronavirus, which has so far infected more than 3.5 million people and killed more than 245,000 around the world.
SCMP TODAY: INTL EDITION Newsletter
Get updates direct to your inbox
He stayed away from the allegation – which scientists have described as highly unlikely – that the virus originated in a Wuhan lab but suggested China had intentionally let the virus spread beyond its borders.
“Personally I think [China] made a horrible mistake. They tried to cover it up. It’s really like [they were] trying to put out a fire. They couldn't put out the fire,” Trump said.
“What China really treated the world badly on was, they stopped people going into China, but they didn't stop people going into the USA and all over the world,” he said. “You couldn't fly out of Wuhan to go to Beijing and or to any place in China... you could fly out of Wuhan, where the primary problem was, to different parts of the world. What’s that all about?”
Trump said a “case could be made, that China said, ‘hey, look, this is going to have a huge impact on China, we might as well let the rest of the world [have the problem too]’.” He also said “a very strong report” would be delivered soon “as to exactly what we think happened. And I think it'll be very conclusive”.
The administration is now pursuing investigations about the origins of the coronavirus, making the Wuhan Institute of Virology the centre of a number of conspiracy theories. Analysts have recently said Trump could wield it as a weapon to deflect attention from his China-friendly comments earlier in the outbreak if evidence surfaced proving such a theory.
Advertisement
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that there was “enormous evidence” that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a laboratory in Wuhan. “I think the whole world can see now, remember, China has a history of infecting the world and running substandard laboratories,” he said on ABC’s This Week.
Meanwhile, the US is formulating a raft of measures to hold China responsible for the pandemic’s damage that includes sanctions, cancelling US debt obligations and drawing up new trade policies.
As the presidential election draws near, the pandemic – which brought the US economy to a near standstill, has also made , leading the two to fire shots at each other.
Trump’s super PAC released a TV ad campaign in April painting Joe Biden as soft on China. The Biden campaign rebutted in videos, hitting Trump for eliminating US pandemic preparedness resources and for praising China's “efforts and transparency” in its virus response.
and get a 10% discount (original price US$400) off the China AI Report 2020 by SCMP Research. Learn about the AI ambitions of Alibaba, Baidu & JD.com through our in-depth case studies, and explore new applications of AI across industries. The report also includes exclusive access to webinars to interact with C-level executives from leading China AI companies (via live Q&A sessions). Offer valid until 31 May 2020.
SINGAPORE: In the initial weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, Singapore seemed well placed to handle the situation.
Measures to limit the number of cases were seen as generally effective and the healthcare system could cope easily with the number of patients with capacity to spare.
However, things have quickly changed from when the first COVID-19 case was reported here on Jan 23.
In recent weeks, thousands of beds have found a home in buildings converted into care facilities. In order to support the bump in the number of beds, and those who may need them, professionals are being recalled, retrained and redeployed.
A man wearing a face mask walks in the Raffles Place financial business district in Singapore, Apr 14, 2020. (File photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)
Following a huge spike in the number of cases - 16,169 cases at the end of April compared to 926 cases at the end of March, the country’s healthcare system has been pushed hard to ensure that capacity can keep up with demand.
At first, the number of infections remained low and maintained a steady pace. Until the beginning of April, new daily cases peaked at 73.
This landed Singapore international acclaim for keeping a seemingly uncontrollable virus in check. The Government repeated its warnings that numbers could rise.
Then, on Apr 5, shortly after the Government announced “circuit breaker” measures to stem the number of cases that had crept up to hit the 1,000 mark, the daily number almost doubled to 120. Clusters began to surface among foreign workers housed in cramped dormitories.
“As many have observed, Singapore’s strategies were generally very effective up until mid-March,” said Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang from the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. “Subsequently and particularly with this explosion of cases among foreign workers, we have been playing catch up.”
When asked how prepared Singapore had been to deal with foreign workers being infected, Prof Hsu said: “It is clear on hindsight that we were unprepared despite some early warnings and caught on the back foot. However, we have since stepped up on measures to regain control of the situation.”
From an average of about 520 cases a day in the third week of April, the average increased to about 950 per day in the fourth week of April. Last week, there was a slight dip in the average number of cases to just under 700.
MAKING SPACE
The surge in cases meant that quick action was needed to expand bed capacity to deal with the number of people who had already been infected, as well as those expected in the future.
As of 2019, Singapore’s private and public hospitals had 11,321 acute care beds. On Apr 25, MOH data showed that half of the eight public hospitals were at least 75 per cent full - this included COVID-19 patients. Details released by MOH on the same day showed that of the more than 12,000 cases (as of Apr 25), just under 10 per cent of COVID-19 patients were in hospital. More than 10,000 were isolated at community facilities.
By then, wheels were in motion to ensure that there was sufficient capacity to deal with thousands of patients with mild symptoms as well as the fewer numbers who might need more intensive treatment and care.
Community facilities have played a key role in shifting the load away from hospitals, with more than 80 per cent of all patients currently located at these facilities (as of May 2). These facilities, in places like Singapore Expo, Changi Exhibition Centre and D’Resort in Pasir Ris, are for COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms and lower risk factors.
Nurses pushing additional beds into wards converted for COVID-19 patients at Alexandra Hospital. (Photo: Alexandra Hospital)
During a multi-ministry task force briefing and press conference last Tuesday (Apr 28), the authorities said there are currently 18,000 bed spaces for “isolation and care needs” available, with another 23,000 in the pipeline.
This includes a doubling of the number of spaces at community care facilities to 20,000 by end-June, increasing the spaces at community recovery facilities at Singapore Armed Forces camps within the same time frame as well as increasing bed spaces in swab isolation facilities.
Community recovery facilities are for COVID-19 patients who remain well at day 14, and do not require further medical care. These recovering patients will be isolated at these facilities before being assessed for discharge. There are about 2,000 spaces, with plans to increase this to more than 10,000 by end-June, the authorities said.
Patients waiting for results of swab tests are housed in what are known as swab isolation facilities. There are more than 4,000 bed spaces in such facilities – including hotels and hostels – that have rooms with en-suite toilets. More than 3,000 beds are in the pipeline.
“We have been building up the healthcare capacity over the last two months to cope with the rise in COVID-19 infected cases,” said an MOH spokesperson, in response to queries from CNA.
“To ensure that the acute hospitals continue to have capacity, patients who no longer require acute hospitalisation may be transferred to private or community hospitals to continue their recovery if they require some medical support, or transferred to the community isolation facilities if they are clinically well.
“Newly confirmed cases with mild symptoms who do not require extensive medical treatment may also be cared for at the community isolation facilities.”
A community isolation facility for COVID-19 patients at Singapore EXPO.
The public healthcare system is also making space.
As of the afternoon of May 3, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital had cared for 1,247 COVID-19 cases. Of them, 1,146 are foreign workers who mainly live in dormitories.
“As a number of these dormitories are in the western part of Singapore, we also saw a spike in cases presented at the emergency department of the hospital,” the hospital’s chief executive Foo Hee Jug said.
He added that he and his colleagues had to move fast to re-purpose various areas in the past week, and sometimes overnight, to meet the increasing load.
The hospital made room for 18 trolley beds and 96 chairs in the emergency department to accommodate these additional patients, he said. Part of Jurong Community Hospital nearby was also converted into a waiting area for those who have undergone testing.
This was on top of making changes to first accommodate 38 COVID-19 patients, and converting an additional six floors of wards to expand capacity for COVID-19 patients.
“Our wards were designed to have a window for every patient, and large paned windows allowing for abundant natural cross ventilation, an important consideration when dealing with infectious diseases,” said Adjunct Assistant Professor Surinder Pada, head of infectious diseases at the hospital.
Alexandra Hospital similarly received a majority of migrant workers among its COVID-19 cases. As of May 2, the hospital had cared for 327 COVID-19 patients since the start of the outbreak, a spokesperson said. Of these, 287 were migrant workers.
The hospital has taken several steps to ramp up capacity, such as increasing bed capacity by more than 30 per cent. About 100 beds have been set aside for COVID-19 patients.
Two empty wards were turned into isolation wards with negative pressure rooms, where air is allowed to flow into the room, but not escape, as part of isolation protocols. Two general wards were converted into space for patients who are positive and symptomatic, but do not require oxygen supplement.
The hospital also increased its capacity to provide intensive care from four beds to 11 beds. It is now targeting to have 20 ICU beds by this month.
SingHealth's deputy group chief executive Fong Kok Yong said that 14 wards across four of its hospitals - Singapore General Hospital, Changi General Hospital, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and Sengkang General Hospital - have been converted into wards for COVID-19 patients.
“Using statistics, we projected bed occupancy rates arising from deferments (of non-urgent elective procedures and outpatient appointments) and made reference to historical data on pneumonia-related admissions, to optimise our hospitals’ capacities,” he said.
“This enabled us to make critical and timely decisions to reconfigure or convert wards to accommodate more patients with acute respiratory symptoms.”
Six general wards and two ICU wards at Tan Tock Seng Hospital have also been converted in order to care for COVID-19 patients, said a hospital spokesperson.
National University Hospital has been creating surge capacity to be able to manage COVID-19 patients since January, said Associate Professor Sophia Archuleta, head and senior consultant at the division of infectious diseases. This is in line with “national directives”, she noted.
“This includes decreasing elective workloads in order to be able to free up hospital isolation facilities and manpower to look after COVID-19 cases, as well as reconfiguring those facilities to serve the needs of our COVID-19 patients better,” Prof Archuleta said. “For example, we have created family-friendly areas where parents and children with COVID-19 can be cared for together by our adult and paediatric inpatient teams.”
The hospital also monitors its number of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients to activate additional manpower or surge capacity as needed, she added.
The MOH spokesperson said the ministry had been “progressively expanding healthcare capacity” to cater for COVID-19 patients, in addition to other conditions which require hospitalisation.
“This includes capacity in the wards, as well as equipment and manpower. We have sufficient supply of medical equipment for the current and projected demand of COVID-19 patients,” said the spokesperson.
MANPOWER NEEDS
Capacity and equipment aside, more professionals are also needed to take care of COVID-19 patients. And public healthcare institutions have made efforts to distribute manpower across areas of need, said MOH.
“For example, we have been progressively training more of our manpower to be able to take on additional roles, such as looking after additional patients in an intensive care unit or a critical care setting,” the spokesperson said.
Assistant director of nursing Doreen Heng at Alexandra Hospital (back facing camera) incorporates mental strength training into her ICU crash course. (Photo: Alexandra Hospital)
In addition, MOH set up the SG Healthcare Corps earlier this month. About 3,000 healthcare professionals with previous experience in the industry have signed up to join the fight against COVID-19.
This includes retired medical professionals and medical staff from the private sector.
The ministry anticipates more healthcare professionals stepping up as well as some without formal training and expertise, said MOH director of medical services Associate Professor Kenneth Mak at a press conference on Apr 28.
The authorities said training packages have been prepared to make sure that they are able to fulfil their roles, which may include swab-testing.
Hospitals have sprung into action to equip nurses with the skills needed in the current situation. At Alexandra Hospital, Ms Doreen Heng, who is assistant director of nursing at the hospital, is helping with “express course training” for former ICU nurses who need a refresher and other nurses from other multi-disciplinary backgrounds, who want to pick up ICU skills training and certification.
The situation is not without challenges. Ms Heng, who was involved in dealing with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) 17 years ago, is unable to hold big group workshops and classroom teaching.
Because ICU skills training needs to be conducted on-site, she and her colleagues have been holding smaller and more frequent three-hour sessions without simulated or classroom learning.
They are assessed, and then immediately deployed to wards for on-the-job training.
To date, there are close to 30 nurses who have been assessed to be deployable in Alexandra Hospital's ICU.
There is not just a need to impart skills but to also train the ICU nurses in mental strength.
“It is important to not buckle under the pressures of the mental and physical challenge in care delivery, but rather, to remain focused and concentrate on the task of for example on hand, and not how sick the patient was, but on the workflow instead,” Ms Heng added.
Doctors work at a triage area at HealthServe clinic, a non-governmental organisation that provides low-cost medical and dental care to migrant workers, during the COVID-19 outbreak in Singapore on Apr 8, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Edgar Su)
With all nursing students withdrawn from clinical attachments when Singapore moved to DORSCON Orange on Feb 7, arrangements were also made at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital for practical training sessions to continue with safe distancing and precautionary measures.
Nurse educators teach in much smaller groups, and the duration of classroom training has been condensed from six to three weeks, before trainees "graduate" to the wards.
Since early April, Ng Teng Fong's clinicians, nurses, allied health professionals, administrative and ancillary staff have moved into the dormitories, as part of a national effort to care for foreign workers and provide medical support and swabbing.
THE DENGUE THREAT
While COVID-19 has dominated the headlines, Singapore is facing a more silent, but similarly tough challenge – the traditional dengue peak season from May to September.
In late-April, the National Environment Agency (NEA) sounded the alarm on the disease, calling for Singaporeans to take immediate action.
This came on the back of bleak numbers. As of mid-April, almost 5,800 dengue cases had been reported, more than double that over the same period in 2019. NEA warned that the number for the year could surpass the 16,000 in 2019, unless immediate measures are taken to suppress the Aedes mosquito population.
The weekly figure of around 300 to 400 cases continues to be a “public health concern”, it added.
However, MOH is confident that the twin threats can be handled by the system.
“Most cases of dengue can be managed well in the primary care setting. For cases that require hospital care, there is currently sufficient capacity to manage these patients,” a spokesperson said.
A banner at a dengue cluster in Jurong West St 91. (Photo: Hanidah Amin)
Assistant Professor Ashley St John from the emerging infectious diseases programme at Duke-NUS Medical School said in the same vein that dengue is generally self-limiting. Only a few patients will need hospitalisation, “so Singapore should be prepared for this”, she added.
“Dengue is spread by mosquitoes so we need to remain vigilant about vector control in our communities, especially when we are staying home during the circuit breaker period,” she said.
Prof St John also cautioned that the high number of dengue cases this year “emphasises” the need to not forget about dengue in spite of the new threat of COVID-19.
Prof Hsu noted that a significant proportion of local hospitals’ capacities have been deployed for managing COVID-19 cases, more so perhaps than any other disease condition at present.
“That the healthcare system is stretched by COVID-19 now is very clear. We are also seeing a rise in dengue cases, with over twice the number seen to date this year compared to 2019,” said Prof Hsu.
However, he noted that the “silver lining” currently is that the bulk of the country’s COVID-19 cases are young, healthy men who do not require hospitalisation, but just isolation.
For now, the circuit breaker measures appear to be having some impact, with numbers among Singaporeans and permanent residents dipping, and numbers among foreign workers gradually declining.
And experts such as Prof Hsu and Dr Asok Kurup, an infectious diseases physician at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, believe that the country will be able to cope.
“Overall our mortality rate is among the lowest. This is a testament to our robust surveillance, contact tracing and quarantine measures, infrastructure built up over years and expertise,” said Dr Kurup.
To date, Singapore has reported 18 COVID-19-related deaths.
“There is no doubt that some people with medical conditions will find their care delayed compared to pre-COVID-19 days, but it is unlikely that our healthcare system will break down or be completely overwhelmed in the near future,” added Prof Hsu.
WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) - The intelligence community briefed US President Donald Trump twice in the eight days before he imposed travel restrictions on China in an attempt to stop the spread of coronavirus, said a senior White House official familiar with the briefings.
In a Jan 23 briefing, Trump was told the virus was poised to spread globally from China and that becoming infected wouldn't be deadly for most people.
That session was the first time the intelligence community briefed the president on Covid-19, said the official, who requested anonymity to describe the classified briefings.
The next time intelligence officials briefed Trump on the topic was Jan 28, when he received information showing the virus was spreading outside of China but that all deaths remained inside of that country, the official said.
Trump was also told at the time that China wasn't sharing key data about the virus, according to the official.
The White House official said those were the only times Trump was briefed by the intelligence community about the virus during January.
It isn't clear what information the intelligence community said China was withholding, or if Trump was briefed about the incredible strain a major outbreak in the US could place on the health-care system, the economy and Americans' way of life.
WHO KNEW WHAT?
The new information sheds more light about what the president and US intelligence agencies knew in the early days of Covid-19's spread in China. Trump and his administration have come under fire for their early response efforts.
More than 1.1 million people in the US have been infected by the virus and more than 67,000 have died, the largest outbreak in the world.
Trump has repeatedly pointed to his decision on Jan. 31 to restrict travel from China to rebut critics who say he was too slow to react. The moves were announced three days after Trump's second January intelligence briefing, in which he was informed the virus was becoming a serious global concern.
US intelligence agencies included warnings about the virus in more than a dozen classified briefings prepared for Trump in January and February, the Washington Post reported on April 27, citing anonymous current and former US officials.
In a Twitter post on Sunday, the president said "Intelligence has just reported to me that I was correct, and that they did NOT bring up the CoronaVirus subject matter until late into January."
Intelligence has just reported to me that I was correct, and that they did NOT bring up the CoronaVirus subject matter until late into January, just prior to my banning China from the U.S. Also, they only spoke of the Virus in a very non-threatening, or matter of fact, manner...
But public-health experts and Democrats say the administration wasted time in February by not imposing restrictions on everyday life that could have slowed the virus' spread to every US state.
Trump spent much of that time period publicly downplaying the threat and praising China's response. He continued to hold campaign rallies, played golf in Florida and visited the Daytona International Speedway. He didn't announce federal social distancing recommendations until March 16.
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday (May 3) said "enormous evidence" showed the new coronavirus originated in a lab in China, further fueling tensions with Beijing over its handling of the outbreak.
Pompeo's comments came as Europe and parts of the United States prepared to cautiously lift virus lockdowns as signs emerge that the deadly pandemic is ebbing and governments look to restart their battered economies.
More than 245,000 people have been killed and 3.4 million infected worldwide by the virus, which has left half of humanity under some form of lockdown and pushed the global economy towards its worst downturn since the Great Depression.
US President Donald Trump, increasingly critical of China's management of the first outbreak in the city of Wuhan in December, last week claimed to have proof it started in a Chinese laboratory.
Scientists believe the virus jumped from animals to humans, after emerging in China, possibly from a market in Wuhan selling exotic animals for meat.
'HISTORY OF INFECTING THE WORLD'
China denies the claims and even the US Director of National Intelligence office has said analysts are still examining the exact origin of the outbreak.
Chinese officials have dismissed speculation the virus first emerged in a lab in Wuhan. AFP/STR
Pompeo, a former CIA chief, told the ABC he agreed with a statement from the US intelligence community about the "wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not man-made or genetically modified."
But Pompeo went further than Trump, citing "significant" and "enormous" evidence that the virus originated in a Wuhan lab.
"I think the whole world can see now, remember, China has a history of infecting the world and running substandard laboratories."
Pompeo said early Chinese efforts to downplay the coronavirus amounted to "a classic Communist disinformation effort. That created enormous risk."
"President Trump is very clear: we'll hold those responsible accountable."
PRESSURE FROM DEMONSTRATORS
US news reports say Trump has tasked US spies to find out more about the origins of the virus, as he makes China's handling of the pandemic a centrepiece of his campaign for the November presidential election.
The United States has the most coronavirus deaths in the world at more 67,000, and Trump is keen for a turnaround to help reduce the economic pain, with tens of millions left jobless.
Florida is set to ease its lockdown on Monday, as other states wrestle with pressure from demonstrators - some armed - who have rallied against the restrictions.
In New York, the epicenter of the US outbreak, an emergency field hospital erected in Central Park is set to close as virus cases decline.
But dozens of New Yorkers were fined for violating social distancing guidelines as they flocked to beaches and parks in balmy weekend weather.
'RULES ARE NOT CLEAR'
Across the Atlantic, European nations prepared for cautious easing of restrictions.
Hard-hit Italy - which reported its lowest daily toll since stay-at-home orders were imposed on Mar 10 - is set to follow Spain in allowing people outside.
Italians from Monday will be allowed to stroll in parks and visit relatives. Restaurants can open for takeaways and wholesale stores can resume business, but there was some confusion over the rules.
Romans were doing aerobics on rooftop terraces and exercising indoors while squares in the city centre were mostly empty on the last day Italians were obliged to remain within 200 meters of their homes.
"On the one hand, we're super excited for the reopening, we're already organising various activities the kids will be able to do with their grandparents outdoors," said Rome resident Marghe Lodoli, who has three children.
"On the other hand, it's disorientating. The rules are not clear, and we're not sure if just using common sense will do."
Italian authorities have said some preventative measures are still needed in a country that has the second-highest number of virus deaths.
Elsewhere, Germany will continue its easing on Monday, while Slovenia, Poland and Hungary will allow public spaces and businesses to partially reopen.
In another sign of life returning, an influential German minister said on Sunday he supports a resumption of the country's football season this month as long as teams respect hygiene conditions.
The British government said the easing of coronavirus lockdown measures was likely to be gradual, as it announced a further rise in the overall death toll.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was expected to unveil the government's plans in coming days, after announcing the country had passed the peak of the virus.
Most governments are sticking to measures to control the spread of the virus - social distancing and masks in public - and more testing to try to track infections even as they relax curbs.
Face masks will be mandatory on public transport starting Monday in Spain, where people were allowed to go outdoors to exercise and walk freely on Saturday after a 48-day lockdown.
Even as some European countries gradually lift restrictions, officials in Moscow - the epicenter of the contagion in Russia - urged residents to stay home.
With cases increasing by several thousand each day, Russia is now the European country registering the most new infections.
PREPARE FOR 'BAD SCENARIOS'
European leaders are backing an initiative from Brussels to raise 7.5 billion euros (US$8.3 billion) to tackle the pandemic and raise funds for efforts to find a vaccine for COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus.
The race is on to find a viable vaccine or treatment with several countries involved in trials.
The head of the maker of remdesivir, an anti-viral shown to reduce recovery times in patients, said on Sunday it was exporting the drug and making it available in the US through the government.
In Asia, South Korea - once the second worst-hit nation on the planet - said on Sunday it would ease a ban on some gatherings and events as long as they "follow disinfection measures".
Thailand allowed businesses such as restaurants, hair salons and outdoor markets to reopen so long as social distancing was maintained and temperature checks carried out.
Thailand allowed businesses such as restaurants, hair salons and outdoor markets to reopen so long as social distancing was maintained. AFP/Mladen ANTONOV
But experts caution that many countries are still not through the worst.
The Philippines suspended all flights into and out of the country for a week starting Sunday in a bid to ease pressure on its congested quarantine facilities.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced mosques would reopen across large parts of the Islamic Republic, after they were closed in early March to try to contain the Middle East's deadliest COVID-19 outbreak.
Rouhani warned, however, that while Iran would reopen "calmly and gradually", it should also prepare for "bad scenarios".
WASHINGTON: Shots fired by North Korea across its border with South Korea were likely "accidental," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday (May 3) as speculation continues to swirl about the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
North and South Korea on Saturday exchanged gunfire around a rural guard post, raising tension a day after North Korean state media showed Kim visiting a factory, the first report of him making a public appearance since Apr 11.
South Korea responded to shots fired from across the DMZ but no casualties were reported.
"We think those are accidental. South Koreans did return fire. So far as we can tell, there was no loss of life on either side," Pompeo said on ABC This Week.
Pompeo declined to discuss whether he knows whether Kim has been gravely ill over the last few weeks - which ratcheted up speculation as Kim missed a celebration of his late grandfather - but said based on video footage of him from state television at a recent event, "It looks like Chairman Kim is alive and well."
