WHO Says US and Brazil Failed to Take Warnings About Virus Outbreak Seriously From the Start

10:15 GMT, 12 May 2020

The United States has the highest number of coronavirus cases globally, the only country reporting seven-digit numbers of infections. Brazil is also one of the 10 most infected nations according to the WHO. Its President Jair Bolsonaro has repeatedly dismissed the virus as just a "flu".

Sputnik

The United States and Brazil failed to take warnings issued by the World Health Organisation seriously right from the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, Margaret Harris, a spokesperson for the international agency, told a virtual briefing on Tuesday.

The United States currently reports 1,298,287 confirmed cases of the coronavirus as well as 78,652 deaths, which makes the United States the leading nation in terms of both the number of infections and fatalities.

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US President Trump has been repeatedly accused of downplaying the threat of the coronavirus infection, with his critics saying that he had missed opportunities in the early stages of the epidemic to introduce stricter measures to halt the spread of the virus.

Brazil has registered 162,699 cases and 11,123 fatalities so far, making it the seventh worst-hit nation, according to the WHO.

Similarly to Trump, Brazil's President Bolsonaro was accused of failing to take the coronavirus threat seriously by his opponents. Bolsonaro has repeatedly dismissed the coronavirus as "the flu" and has continued to meet the public after a trip to the United States in March, which saw 20 members of his delegation contract COVID-19.