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By Jeff Mason and Paulina Duran 
3h ago
Washington – United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday stopped funding for the World Health Organization for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, prompting condemnation from infectious disease experts as the number of global deaths continued to rise.
Trump, who has reacted angrily to criticism of his administration’s response to the worst epidemic in a century, has become increasingly hostile to the WHO.
The Geneva-based organization had promoted China’s “disinformation” about the virus that likely led to a larger outbreak than would otherwise have occurred, Trump said.
“The WHO failed in this basic duty and must be held accountable,” Trump said at a White House press conference on Tuesday.
President @realDonaldTrump It is halting funding from the World Health Organization, while a review is underway to assess WHO’s role in mismanagement of the coronavirus outbreak. pic.twitter.com/jTrEf4WWj0
– The White House (@WhiteHouse)
April 14, 2020
Almost 2 million people worldwide have been infected and more than 124,000 have died since the disease first emerged in China late last year, according to a Reuters count.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it was not the time to cut resources for WHO.
“Now is the time for unity and for the international community to work in solidarity to stop this virus and its devastating consequences,” he said in a statement.
The United States is WHO’s largest overall donor, contributing more than $ 400 million in 2019, about 15% of its budget.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was sympathetic to Trump’s criticism of the WHO, especially his “unfathomable” support for the reopening of China’s “wet markets,” where freshly slaughtered animals are sold and where they first appeared. the coronavirus in Wuhan city. year.
“But with that said, WHO as an organization also does a lot of important work, including here in our Pacific region, and we work closely with them,” Morrison told an Australian radio station on Wednesday.
“We are not going to throw the baby out with the bath water here, but they are also not immune to criticism or immune to doing things better.”
More than 2,200 died in the United States alone on Tuesday, a record number according to a Reuters count, even as the country debated how to reopen its economy.
New York City, the US city most affected by the pandemic, revised its death toll to more than 10,000 on Tuesday, to include victims allegedly deceased from lung disease but never tested.
The US healthcare advocacy group Protect Our Care said the WHO’s withdrawal of funds from Trump was “a transparent attempt by President Trump to distract himself from his story by minimizing the severity of the coronavirus crisis and the failure of his administration to prepare our nation. “
“The World Health Organization is certainly not without its flaws, but it is more than irresponsible to cut its funds at the height of a global pandemic,” said Leslie Dach, president of Protect Our Care.
After weeks of blockades in several European countries, the WHO said the number of new cases was shrinking in some areas, such as Italy and Spain, but that the outbreaks were growing in Britain and Turkey.
“The overall global outbreak: 90% of cases come from Europe and the United States of America. Therefore, we are not yet seeing the peak,” WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said at a briefing in Geneva. .
India extended a blockade to its 1.3 billion people until at least May 3, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi said economic sacrifices were needed to save lives, as the number of coronavirus cases exceeded 10,000.
New cases in mainland China fell to 46, compared to 89 the day before, Chinese health officials reported Wednesday, with one more death. Most of the cases were of foreign travelers who returned from Russia.
Asian equity markets rose as China moved again to dampen its economy, cutting a key medium-term interest rate to record all-time lows and paving the way for a similar reduction in benchmark loan rates.
The world economy is expected to shrink by 3% this year, the International Monetary Fund said, marking the worst recession since the Great Depression.
Trump, who has stated he will decide when to lift the American blockades, suggested that some Democratic state governors were “mutinied” after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he would reject any order that would risk reactivating the outbreak.
Trump’s top adviser on infectious diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said the president’s goal on May 1 to restart the economy was “too optimistic.”
Airlines have been among the hardest hit because borders have been closed and citizens have been asked to stay home to curb the spread.
Chinese airlines reported a total loss of $ 4.8 billion in the first quarter, the country’s aviation regulator said.
The US Treasury Department. USA He said major passenger airlines have agreed in principle to a $ 25 billion bailout package, ensuring airline workers have jobs until October, as the industry struggles with the biggest crisis in its history.
In New Zealand, where a strict blockade has limited the number of cases and deaths, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that she, her ministers and executive heads of public service will receive a 20% pay cut over the next six months given the impact economic of the coronavirus. pandemic.
Reuters
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