Trump says high number of Coronavirus cases is tribute to testing

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said it was a 'badge of honor' that the United States leads the world in the number of Coronavirus cases, as he said the main reason is the growing testing capability nationwide for the virus.

"I view it as a badge of honor," the President told reporters during a White House Cabinet meeting. "It's a great tribute to the testing, and all of the work that a lot of professionals have done."

"If we were testing a million people instead of 14 million people, we would have far fewer cases," Mr. Trump added.

The President's comments came as the number of U.S. virus cases topped 1.5 million on Tuesday, with the death toll moving over 90,000 Americans in just three months.

The President's comments came as he again defended his decision to take the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, in an effort to ward off the Coronavirus.

After a meeting with GOP Senators on Capitol Hill, the President was asked why he would take a drug which his own Food and Drug Administration had urged Americans to avoid taking for the virus.

"Well, I've worked with doctors," President Trump answered, as he denounced a study which raised questions about the use of the drug, a "Trump-enemy statement."

The President offered no evidence to back up his claim on the study.

Mr. Trump also claimed Tuesday that meat packing plants - which have featured a number of Coronavirus infection hot spots - are almost fully cured of the virus, though reporting in multiple states about positive cases at those plants shows otherwise.

"That's going away. The plants are very, very clean now," as the President claimed the plants were 'cleaner than they've ever been.'

Democrats disputed the President's rosy assertion about meat packing facilities.

"I have repeatedly called on this Administration to issue mandatory protections to keep workers safe and healthy, but Trump is again failing to get the job done," said Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).

The issue could come up at the White House on Wednesday, when the Governor of Kansas visits. That state has seen some 1,800 infections at a series of meat packing plants, but only a handful of deaths.