India Has Less Covid-19 Deaths Than US Despite Larger Population, Says California Congresswoman

Even as Indian continues to dight the COVID-19 pandemic, the country has received praise from unlikely quarters for its handling of the crisis. California Congresswoman Karen Bass has taken to social media compare India's coronavirus casualties with that of the United States on Thursday, implying that despite the size of its population, the casualties in India were lower in contrast to the US.

"There are 1.3 billion people in India. Less than 15,000 people there have died because of the coronavirus. There are 328 million people in the United States. More than 120,000 people here have died because of the coronavirus," Bass posted on the microblogging site on Thursday, calling the disparity "absolutely outrageous".

Bass, who is also the Congressional Black Caucus chair, was reacting to news about the White House's announcement to cut funding for COVID-19 testing despite an increasing number of positive cases and casualties.

The Trump administration said on Wednesday that it would no longer directly fund 13 of its original coronavirus testing sites in five states, saying states were allocated money for testing by the federal government last month.

President Donald Trump has lamented the rising U.S. coronavirus cases and sought to put the onus on increased testing, which he said makes the United States look bad.

(With inputs from Reuters)