A tweet by United States President Donald Trump was once again on Tuesday red-flagged as he downplayed the seriousness of the coronavirus and compared it with the flu. Twitter put a warning on the tweet, saying it included potentially misleading information.
“Flu season is coming up! Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from the Flu,” Trump tweeted. “Are we going to close down our Country? No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!”
The tweet came hours after Trump was discharged from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, where he was admitted after he contracted the coronavirus. On Monday, the US president asked citizens not to fear Covid-19. He even removed his face mask to pose for pictures though he still has the disease.
Earlier in the day, Facebook removed a similar post by Trump, according to CNN.
During the 2019-2020 influenza season, the flu was associated with 22,000 deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 2 lakh lives in the United States alone so far.
Several White House officials, including First Lady Melania Trump, have tested positive for the coronavirus lately. On Monday, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said she has also contracted the infection.
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