Once again blaming China for the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, US President Donald Trump termed 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," Trump said.
Kung fu refers to the Chinese martial arts in which people use only their bare hands and feet to fight.
The US President has repeatedly blamed China for the coronavirus outbreak, which originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019 and accused Beijing of suppressing the details of the contagion.
The Trump administration officials had earlier described it as Wuhan virus due to its origin.
The COVID-19, which originated in China's Wuhan city in December last year, has also battered the world economy with the International Monetary Fund saying that the global economy is bound to suffer a "severe recession".
Trump, addressing his first election rally on Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in the US early this year, said that the COVID-19 is a disease and has many names than any disease in history.
Covid-19 has killed more than 4,60,000 people worldwide and infected 8,945,792 others.
According to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, the contagion has infected over 8.5 million people and killed more than 450,000 across the world.
The United States is the worst affected country with over 2.2 million cases and more than 1,19,000 deaths.
Scientists are racing against time to find a vaccine or medicine for its treatment.
74-years-old Trump is seeking re-election in the November presidential elections against former vice president Joe Biden, 77, who is the Democratic Party's candidate.
(With agency inputs)
