Summary
- Trump says WHO “missed the call” on COVID-19.
- Trump accuses WHO of being “very China-centric.”
- WHO has praised China for its transparency on the virus.
President Donald Trump says he will “put a hold” on US funding to the World Health Organization, saying “they missed the call” on the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump made the announcement at a White House press briefing as deaths and infections across the country continued to rise.
Across the US, the death toll topped 12,000, with around 380,000 confirmed infections.
Some of the deadliest hot spots were Detroit, New Orleans and the New York metropolitan area, which includes parts of Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Trump is criticising the organisation, saying they “called it wrong” and saying they seem to be “very China-centric.”
He says: “They should have known and they probably did know.”
The WHO has praised China for its transparency on the virus, even though there is reason to believe that more people died of COVID-19 than the country’s official tally.
Throughout his presidency, Trump has voiced scepticism of many international organisations.
