Here is a transcript of that exchange between Trump and reporters: Reporter: Why haven’t you said anything about the U.S. hitting -- why haven’t you said anything about the U.S. hitting 200,000 deaths from Covid? Trump: Say it? Why haven’t you said anything about the U.S. hitting 200,000 deaths from Covid? Trump (gesturing to other reporters): Go ahead. Anybody else? Reporter: Mr. President, could you speak to the grim milestone today of 200,000 deaths to the virus? What do you want to say to the American people? Trump: Well, I think it’s a shame. I think if we didn’t do it properly and do it right, you’d have two and a half million deaths. If you take a look at alternatives, you could have two and a half million deaths or something thereabouts. You could have a number that would be substantially more. With all of that being said, we shouldn’t have had anybody. And you saw my United Nations speech. China should’ve stopped it at their border. They should’ve never let this spread all over the world, and it’s a terrible thing. But had we not closed our country down and reopened -- and now we’re doing well in reopening; the stock market is up -- all of those things. But I think it’s a horrible thing. But if we had not done it right, you could have two million, two and a half million, or three million. But it’s a horrible thing. It should’ve never, ever happened. China let this happen, and just remember that. Reporter: Do you think that we could hit another 200,000-death milestone? Trump: Well, I know this: The original numbers were around 200,000, if you do it right, if you did a good job, and if the public worked along. And if you didn’t do it right, you’d be a at two million, two and a half million. Those were the numbers. But this should’ve never happened. This should’ve never come out of China. They should’ve never let it happen. So that’s it. US President Donald Trump calls 200,000 deaths "a shame" US President Donald Trump has responded to a question asked by a reporter at the White House about the US death toll – a fifth of the global total and the highest of any country worldwide – passing 200,000 by saying, “Well, I think it’s a shame”. Trump went on to say: I think if we didn’t do it properly and do it right, you’d have two and a half million deaths. If you take a look at alternatives, you could have two and a half million deaths or something thereabouts. You could have a number that would be substantially more [...] And you saw my United Nations speech, China should have stopped it at their border. They should have never let this spread all over the world and it’s a terrible thing.” Earlier, he dismissed a question about the devastating toll: Summary Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest for the next few hours. Get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan. The weekly number of new recorded coronavirus infections worldwide was last week at its highest level ever, the WHO announced. With a new seven-day high of just short of two million new cases recorded by the WHO, the latest tally represents a 6% increase over the previous week as well as “the highest number of reported cases in a single week since the beginning of the epidemic,” the UN health agency said. Meanwhile in the UK, the prime minister, Boris Johnson, introduced new restrictions for England likely to last six months following a surge in positive cases in recent weeks. The raft of new measures include telling the public to continue working from home, a 10pm curfew for hospitality venues, and limiting weddings to 15 people. Jordan reported its highest daily count since the start of the pandemic in March. As another 634 positive cases took the tally to 5,679, the health ministry warned the coronavirus was spreading fast across the country and urged people to social distance and wear masks to protect others. Hundreds of students in Dundee, Scotland have been told to isolate after a suspected Covid-19 outbreak in halls of residence. NHS Tayside is investigating a single positive case and a small number of suspected cases of coronavirus linked to private student accommodation, Parker House in Dundee. The US coronavirus death toll passed the grim milestone of 200,000, the highest in the world. According to a tally from Johns Hopkins University, at least 200,005 Americans have died of Covid-19 since the pandemic started in March, that is about one-fifth of the global death toll. The EU Council has been postponed after its president went into quarantine when his bodyguard tested positive. Charles Michel’s test came back negative but he will quarantine nonetheless in accordance with Belgian rules, and the council will take place on 1 and 2 October. The Netherlands posted a record weekly number of new confirmed coronavirus infections. In the week through 22 September cases hit 13,471, an increase of 60% on the 8,265 cases reported the week prior. People arriving in Italy from Paris and seven other areas of France now have to undergo mandatory coronavirus tests. The move comes amid rising infections in France and affects people arriving from Île-de-France, the region including Paris, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Corsica, Hauts-de-France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie. Iran reported a record daily rise in infections. A further 3,712 positive cases took the tally to 429,193.