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Trump news – live: New York state now has more coronavirus cases than any country as nearly 17m Americans apply for unemployment benefits

Donald Trump takes part in a White House briefing on the coronavirus pandemic: Getty Images
Donald Trump takes part in a White House briefing on the coronavirus pandemic: Getty Images

The number of coronavirus cases in New York state is now passed 151,600, meaning it has more than any country barring the US itself, as the number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits surges to almost 17m.

Despite those grim figures, Donald Trump’s mind appears to be on other matters after signing an executive order on Wednesday opening up the possibility of America mining the moon for minerals and promising to “take a look” at pardoning Joe Exotic, the subject of Netflix’s latest true crime sensation Tiger King.

The president otherwise used his latest press conference on Covid-19 to indicate he hoped to end US lockdown measures soon and reopen the economy with a “big bang” as his approval ratings began to slide in response to his administration’s erratic handling of the crisis.

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