President Trump says coronavirus a 'very bad gift' from China

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that coronavirus was a "very bad gift" from China to the rest of the world, as America surpassed the grim milestone of over one lakh COVID-19-linked deaths. "All over the World the CoronaVirus, a very bad 'gift' from China, marches on. Not good!" Trump said in a tweet.

"We have just reached a very sad milestone with the coronavirus pandemic deaths reaching 100,000," he said. The US reached the painful milestone of 100,000 coronavirus-related deaths - the highest in the world - on Wednesday.

"To all of the families & friends of those who have passed, I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy & love for everything that these great people stood for & represent. God be with you!" said the president. The New York Times said that the death toll exceeds the number of US military combat fatalities in every conflict since the Korean War.

It matches the toll in the US of the 1968 flu pandemic, and it is approaching the 116,000 killed in another flu outbreak a decade before that, it said. According to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the coronavirus has impacted all age groups and communities in the US. Asian Americans accounts for 4.7 per cent of the total coronavirus cases and Black Americans 26.3 per cent.

Globally more than 355,000 people have died and over 5.6 million tested positive. In the United States, more than 1.7 million Americans have tested positive with COVID 19.