23 Sep

Johns Hopkins University in the United States says confirmed fatalities from the coronavirus in the country topped 200,000 on Tuesday.

New cases began showing signs of decline in August, but the tide has changed since mid-September as the number of cases began to rise in some areas, including the mid-western states of Wisconsin and Minnesota, as well as the southern state of Texas.

Researchers at the University of Washington say the death toll would reach 378,000 by January 1, 2021, if the current situation continues.

The response to the outbreak has become a major issue in the presidential election scheduled for November 3.

Democrats say the government has failed to take effective measures, and simply left the coronavirus response to state authorities.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Sunday criticized Trump and said, "After deliberately downplaying the virus' severity - Trump still has no plan to get it under control and has proven himself utterly incapable of guiding us through this moment."

Trump denies the criticism, saying he made no mistakes in handling the virus, and many lives were saved.

NHK