Coronavirus, Trump cheats with tests

Audio 03:29

By: Sophie Malibeaux

This week the United States crossed the threshold of 61,000 Covid-19 deaths and registered one million people infected with the coronavirus. However, for Donald Trump, it is the country's extraordinary screening capacity that explains the high number of cases in the United States.

Publicity

This Wednesday, despite the record number of coronavirus deaths in the United States, Donald Trump posted a reason for satisfaction on his Facebook page:

“  The only reason the United States has counted a million cases of Corona Virus is that our screening is much better than in any other country in the world. All the other countries are far behind us when it comes to testing, and that's why they present far fewer cases.  "

In the comments posted under this statement, one could read the satisfaction awarded to the head of state by his most convinced supporters, taking the opportunity to lynch the media who do not share this observation.

Screening, what elements of comparison ?

In fact Donald Trump, accustomed to superlatives, does not specify on what basis he bases his observation. It would seem that it expresses itself in absolute terms, without putting its figures in relation to the total population of the United States. This does not allow, in reality, to compare the situation of the United States with other countries, in terms of screening capacity.

To really know which countries test their populations the most, there is however a way to consult the work of statisticians, who, by compiling official data from health agencies around the world, have produced an estimate of the number of test performed per 1,000 inhabitants. The graph published by the Statista site, for example, reveals that Italy and Germany are far ahead of the United States, which themselves are now ahead of South Korea, France and the United Kingdom. These data change every day. But for now, it is clear that the United States has not reached the level of screening of countries like Germany and Italy. When Italy was at 30 tests per thousand inhabitants, the United States practiced just over 15, as of April 25.

Test to better define

Why does the American president insist on the excellence of the screening in his country - quitte to force the line? Besides the fact that this allows it - in part - to justify a high number of detected cases, it is above all a major argument for a rapid deconfinement of the population, which its supporters are calling for. But not all states are equal when it comes to screening in the United States.

According to researchers from the Harvard World Institute, quoted by AFP and Sciences et Avenir , only 19 states would be sufficiently equipped with tests to get out of confinement under reasonable conditions. For the remaining 31 states, including New York, there is still a long way to go, even if last week saw a relative acceleration in screening. As a result, serious uncertainties still weigh on the recovery of the American economy.

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