Even as the United States (US) remains the hardest-hit country by the Coronavirus pandemic, the President of America Donald Trump said on Saturday that he was encouraging COVID-19  response workers to slow down testing, arguing that increased tests lead to more cases being discovered.

America with 2,278,373 positive cases of Coronavirus and 119,959 fatalities so far, has more deaths and cases than any other country in the world. It has carried out around 27 million COVID-19 tests, placing it 26th in the world, per capita.

Trump has on several occasions misleadingly claimed that spurt in  COVID-19 cases in several states can be explained by increased diagnostic tests.

Trump, addressing his first election rally in three months in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after the outbreak forced nationwide shutdowns in March, told the crowd in that testing was a “double-edged sword.”

“Here is the bad part: When you do testing to that extent, you are going to find more people, you will find more cases,” Trump argued.

“So I said ‘slow the testing down.’ They test and they test,”added the President.

Although one can’t say from Trump’s tone if he was playing to the crowd, which cheered as he spoke, or if he was being serious.

On Saturday the US President, had once again blamed China for the global spread of the deadly coronavirus, which has killed over 450,000 people and infected more than 8.5 million worldwide till now, terming the disease as “Kung Flu”.

“I can name – Kung flu. I can name 19 different versions of names. Many calls it a virus, which it is. Many calls it a flu. What difference. I think we have 19 or 20 versions of the name,” Donald Trump had said.

Donald Trump, addressing his first election rally in three months on Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said that COVID-19 is a disease which has more names than any other disease in history.

“I can name – Kung flu. I can name 19 different versions of names. Many calls it a virus, which it is. Many calls it a flu. What difference. I think we have 19 or 20 versions of the name,” Donald Trump said.

Coronavirus cases have spiked in several states, including Oklahoma, and local health officials had asked Trump to postpone the rally, fearing it would contribute to the spread.

Six members of an advance team working in Tulsa ahead of the rally tested positive for COVID-19, the Trump campaign said just hours before the president took the stage.

Donald Trump, 74, is seeking re-election in the November presidential elections this year against former vice-president Joe Biden, 77, who is the Democratic Party’s candidate.

At the campaign rally in Oklahoma, the US President also claimed victory over the pandemic.

(With agency inputs)