US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has said he may seek damages from China to “hold them accountable” for the coronavirus, and appeared to confirm that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is alive.
Trump was speaking at his first media briefing since he suggested that disinfectant could be injected into the body as a treatment against Covid-19 – a suggestion not backed by any medical evidence.
The US president said the US is investigating ways to hold China accountable for the coronavirus outbreak which emerged in Wuhan last December.
“There are a lot of ways you can hold them accountable,” Trump said. “We’re doing some very serious investigations as you probably know.”
“We are not happy with China, we are not happy with that whole situation because we believe it could have been stopped at the source.
It could have been stopped quickly and it wouldn’t have spread all over the world and we think that should have happened.
“We haven’t determined the final amount yet,” he said.
Trump also appeared to confirm that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is alive, saying he wished him well after days of speculation over the dictator’s whereabouts.
Asked if he had new information about Kim’s health, Trump said “yes, I do have a very good idea, but I can’t talk about it now. I just wish him well.”
“I hope he’s fine,” Trump continued, speaking at a White House press conference. “I do know how he’s doing, relatively speaking.”
Trump said the media would “probably be hearing in the not-too-distant future” about his Kim Jong Un.
Conjecture has grown since Kim’s conspicuous no-show at April 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, the North’s founder – the most important day in the country’s political calendar.
The leader has not made a public appearance since presiding over a Workers’ Party politburo meeting on April 11, and the following day state media reported on him inspecting fighter jets at an air defense unit.
Amid media reports that he was ill and speculation that he might even have died, a top security adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Sunday that Kim was in fact “alive and well.”
New guidelines
In the US, the White House has released new guidelines on coronavirus testing and reopening businesses.
As part of the guidelines, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention released new priorities for virus testing, including people who show no symptoms but are in high-risk settings.
The White House unveiled what it described as a comprehensive overview of its efforts to make enough tests for Covid-19 available so states can sample at least 2.6% of their populations each month. Areas that have been harder hit by the virus would be able to test at double that rate or higher, the White House said.
Trump and administration medical experts outlined the plan on a call with governors on Monday afternoon, and the president announced that businesses would expand access to tests across the country.
“Testing is not going to be a problem at all,” Trump said later in the Rose Garden. Many of the administration’s past pledges and goals on testing have not been met.
White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said media briefings would be held later in the week but “they might have a new look to them, a new focus to them”.
“We’re entering a phase of looking to reopen the country and with that, the president will be focusing a lot on the economy,” she said.
On the conference call with governors, Trump suggested that many states should consider reopening schools before the end of the academic year, easing the way for parents to go back to work.
“Some of you might start thinking about school openings because a lot of people are wanting to have the school openings,” he told the governors.
Among Monday’s announcements was a new “testing blueprint” for states. It includes a focus on surveillance testing as well as “rapid response” programmes to isolate those who test positive and identify those with whom they came in contact.
The administration aims to have the market “flooded” with tests for the autumn, when Covid-19 is expected to recur alongside seasonal flu.
With reporting by AFP and Orla Dwyer.
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