Trump says US coronavirus toll could surpass 150,000

The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic in the United States could surpass 150,000, President Donald Trump said Monday, reports AFP.

"It could get up to 150," Trump said in an interview with the cable television channel Spectrum News. "It could go beyond that.

"But we would have lost two million to four million lives [without mitigation]," he said.

A study published by the Imperial College of London in mid-March warned of a possible 2.2 million deaths in the United States if no efforts had been taken to mitigate the spread of the highly-contagious virus.

The US death toll from COVID-19 has topped 120,000, according to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University.

"We've done a good job and now we're bringing the country back," Trump said.

The president was also asked about holding more campaign rallies at a time when the virus was still spreading in several southern and western states.

"We're always worried about safety," he said. "We want to get rid of this thing."

Trump, who is facing a tough re-election battle in November, is scheduled to attend a "Students for Trump" event in Phoenix on Tuesday.

He held a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday, his first since the pandemic began, but it was sparsely attended.