Fox News presenter Neil Cavuto on Monday refuted President Donald Trump’s false claim that 99 percent of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States were “totally harmless,” counting a number of statistics to inform viewers. from Fox about how dangerous the virus is.
During his comments on Independence Day, the president played down the severity of the illness that has already claimed more than 130,000 American lives, claiming without any evidence that of the millions of American COVID-19 cases that have been identified, ” 99 percent “of them were” Totally harmless “.
Speaking with Dr. Qanta Ahmed about a recent study showing that the coronavirus is now in the air and can stay indoors, Cavuto, who has regularly provoked the president’s ire for his critical coverage, used basic mathematics to discredit the Trump’s recent claim.
“You know, doctor, the president said that even with spikes in cases, 99 percent of cases are ‘totally harmless,'” said the veteran Fox presenter. “Now, I’m not a doctor, but I know a little bit about maths”.
“So I was looking at the 2.7 million cases that we have and the 5 percent death rate associated with that,” he continued. “Closest hospitalizations at a rate of 10 percent. And hospitalization rates for people with respiratory problems are about 9 percent. Simply put, I don’t find 99 percent of cases totally harmless. What’s the matter with you?”
Ahmed agreed with Cavuto, adding that “he would have to differ from the president on that,” noting that “the risks are enormous” for people with comorbidities like diabetes and obesity. He also noted that many of those who survive the disease will suffer long-term lung damage.
Cavuto wondered aloud if Trump was giving people a “false sense of security,” adding that he wasn’t sure that was the president’s intention. Ahmed replied that he “would not place the entire burden” on Trump, noting that many people are skeptical of the pandemic.
“But now we see as a nation, we follow almost everyone in our efforts to combat this virus,” he added. “Because we have acted, as we really are, that it is a federation where state governments are so powerful. If we had a unified response, much of this virus would have been left behind. And so we have no time to lose to support these other states. “
Even members of the president’s own administration were unable to defend their claims that the virus is essentially harmless. Appearing on CNN Sunday State of the union, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn declined to endorse the president’s comments, saying he would “not go into who is right and who is wrong,” while stressing that the country “must take this seriously.”
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