Supporters of the US president, Donald Trump, have come out in force across the country, and said that, after he spoke so boldly about his having defeated the Coronavirus, and telling everyone not to fear COVID-19, they, too, can now face up to the pandemic with a new reassurance safe in the knowledge that they are also going to survive.
The President was released from the Walter Reed hospital last week, and immediately went live on TV, advising viewers not to let fear of the virus dominate their lives.
He dismissively ripped off his face mask, as if to indicate that, whether he was wearing one or not, no pesky virus was going to get the better of him.
Trump supporters said their confidence in him and everything he utters had been bolstered by his strong words and actions, and that they now regarded COVID-19 as something they could defeat, if only if only they were as determined to do so as he was.
One man, Bert Jerkov, from New York, said:
"If Donald Trump, at 74 years of age, can take on the deadly Coronavirus with his bare hands, and, more importantly, his bare face, maybe it's not as deadly as we all thought."