Trump refuses to halt rallies as coronavirus surges

US President Donald Trump signalled Saturday that he has no intention of halting campaign rallies despite surging coronavirus infections, as a case was confirmed for the first time within miles of the White House. The president struck a defiant tone as he spoke to reporters about the outbreak at his Mar a Lago resort in southern Florida, where he was hosting his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro. "We will have tremendous rallies and we're doing very well, and we've done a fantastic job with respect to that subject," Trump responded when asked if his "Keep America Great" campaign events would continue. Trump's remarks came as the number of cases confirmed across the United States leapt past 400, with 19 deaths confirmed so far, mainly in the west coast state of Washington. Meanwhile health authorities announced the first confirmed case in the nation's capital -- a Washington DC resident in his 50s with no history of international travel and no close contacts with anyone known to be infected.