US President Donald Trump has described the COVID-19 pandemic as the “worst attack” ever on the United States.

Mr Trump said, the pandemic had hit the US harder than the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in World War Two, or the 9/11 attacks two decades ago.

His administration is weighing punitive actions against China over its early handling of the virus outbreak.

Since emerging in China at the end of last year, the coronavirus is confirmed to have infected close to 1.2 million Americans, with 73,000 casualties so far.