On the heels of the World Health Organization’s warning for world leaders not to prematurely relax stay at home restrictions, US President Donald Trump has unveiled phased guidelines for ending the lockdown in some states.

Speaking at a White House press briefing on Thursday, Mr. Trump said some states are in “very good shape” and will be in a position to reopen “literally tomorrow”. He did not identify such states by name.

The US President has earlier said he has “all authority” to decide when restrictions are relaxed- a claim which has since been debunked by political analysts and commentators.

President Trump again targeted animosity towards China, claiming the US government had not been given sufficient time to prepare for the virus. “People should have told us about this. They should’ve told the rest of the world, too” he said.

The US accounts for the most highest number of COVID-19 cases globally, with  over 660,000 confirmed cases and upwards of 30,300 deaths on record.