With just one week remaining before the presidential election, President Donald Trump continues to insist that the coronavirus pandemic is nearly over, even as infections surge across the United States and fact-checkers challenge his repeated claims about the virus and the economy.

Campaigning Tuesday in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nebraska, Trump told supporters that the country was turning the corner on COVID-19, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.

At his Omaha rally, Trump declared that the nation was "rounding that beautiful turn" and predicted that rising infections in the Midwest would quickly decline.

But the numbers tell a different story.

The United States reported more than 83,000 new coronavirus cases on October 23, setting a daily record. Wisconsin, Nebraska, and other Midwestern states are experiencing serious increases in infections.

Fact-Checkers Challenge Trump's Claims

In an October 27 examination of Trump's closing campaign arguments, PolitiFact identified numerous false or misleading statements.

Among them were Trump's assertions that the pandemic was disappearing, that increased testing was responsible for rising case counts, and that his administration had saved two million American lives.

Public health experts reject the suggestion that testing alone explains the surge. Increased testing identifies infections, but it does not cause them.

Trump has also suggested that hospitals have financial incentives to inflate coronavirus death totals. PolitiFact rated that claim false, finding no evidence of widespread fraudulent reporting.

Trump Focuses on Biden Instead of the Pandemic

Rather than making the public health crisis the centerpiece of his closing campaign message, Trump continues to emphasize economic recovery while warning that Democratic nominee Joe Biden would bring economic disaster.

He has repeatedly portrayed the election as a choice between a rapid recovery under his administration and a severe depression under Biden.

Biden, meanwhile, has criticized Trump's handling of the pandemic and called for a stronger national response.

The contrast comes as the coronavirus continues spreading across the country, with more than 225,000 Americans already dead.

With Election Day approaching, Trump is asking voters to believe the pandemic is nearly behind them. The latest public health figures, however, show a country still confronting a worsening crisis.