Washington: US President Donald Trump said in a Fox News interview on Sunday he no longer has COVID-19 and is not a transmission risk for the virus, as he prepares to hit the campaign trail with a return to big rallies.
Trump said tests showed he would be able to return to campaigning with no risk to others. His doctor said on Saturday the president was not a transmission risk but did not address whether he tested negative for the virus.
I passed the highest test, the highest standards, and I’m in great shape, Trump said on Fox News Channel. It seems like I’m immune. I can go way out of the basement.
Meanwhile, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has said that the state has witnessed some progress in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic, with the positivity rate for test results in the Red Zone focus areas fell by 4.95 per cent.
In a statement on Saturday, Cuomo said that the positivity rate without Red Zone focus areas included was 0.96 per cent, and 1.07 per cent with the focus areas included, reports Xinhua news agency.
These Red Zone focus areas, which are home to 2.8 per cent of state’s population, have accounted for 18 per cent of all positive cases reported this week.
“Our numbers remain good news, even as clusters appear in certain areas of the state. Our testing system is so advanced that we were able to track clusters to 2.8 per cent of the state’s population and attack the virus within that population,” Cuomo said in the statement.
“It’s going to take the work of all of us now to make sure we don’t go backwards on our hard-fought progress. We must all continue to wear our masks, wash our hands, remain socially distant, and above all, stay New York Tough,” he added.
Within the Red Zone focus areas, 3,901 test results were reported on Friday, yielding 193 positives or a 4.95 per cent positivity rate, according to the statement.
In the remainder of the state, 30,678 tests results were reported, yielding 1,254 positives or 0.96 per cent of the positivity rate, it added.
Once the epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic in the US, New York state has reported more than 478,000 Covid-19 cases, of which New York City accounted for over 255,000. The death toll in the state stood at 32,875.