World / Covid 19

Donald Trump again says New Zealand has 'big outbreak' of Covid-19

14:03 pm on 20 August 2020

US President Donald Trump has again called New Zealand's coronavirus cluster a "big outbreak" after saying two days ago it was "a big surge".

US president Donald Trump (file) Photo: AFP

At a White House media conference today he said: "New Zealand, by the way, had a big outbreak - and other countries that were held up to try and make us look not as good as we should look because we've done an incredible job. They're having a lot of outbreaks but they've been able to put them out and we'll put them out."

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday she couldn't see any real comparison with America's tens of thousands of daily cases.

New Zealand reported five new cases today, while the US had close to 40,000 yesterday.

"Obviously, every country is experiencing its own fight with Covid-19, it is a tricky virus but not one where I would compare New Zealand's current status to the United States," she said.

See how NZ politicians reacted to his statements earlier this week here: