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WASHINGTON: United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused China of learning about the new coronavirus in November, renewing accusations that Beijing has not been transparent.
“You will recall that the first cases of this were known to the Chinese government perhaps as early as November, but certainly in mid-December,” Pompeo said in an interview on Thursday.
“They were slow to identify this for anyone in the world, including the World Health Organization,” he told conservative radio host Larry O’Connor.
“This issue of transparency is important not only as a historical matter to understand what happened in November and December and January, but it is important even today,” said Pompeo.
“This is still affecting many lives here in the United States and, frankly, around the world.”
At first, China closely kept information on the virus and detained whistleblowers.
The first official recognition of what became a global pandemic occurred on December 31 when authorities in Wuhan reported mysterious cases of pneumonia.
Michael Ryan, director of emergencies for the World Health Organization, said the UN body first spoke of an event in Wuhan on January 4 via Twitter and provided “detailed information” the following day to all member countries. President Donald Trump’s administration has harshly criticized both China and the WHO, blaming them for failing to stop the disease that has killed more than 1,80,000 people worldwide.
Critics say Trump is trying to deviate from his own handling of the coronavirus, which he claimed to have “totally under control” in January, but has since killed nearly 50,000 people in the United States, more than any other country.
Pompeo has not previously ruled out that the virus originated from a virology laboratory in Wuhan and has demanded international access to it.
China has discarded the theory. Its scientists say the virus was likely transmitted to humans at a meat market in Wuhan that slaughtered exotic animals. (AFP)
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“You will recall that the first cases of this were known to the Chinese government perhaps as early as November, but certainly in mid-December,” Pompeo said in an interview on Thursday.
“They were slow to identify this for anyone in the world, including the World Health Organization,” he told conservative radio host Larry O’Connor.
“This issue of transparency is important not only as a historical matter to understand what happened in November and December and January, but it is important even today,” said Pompeo.
“This is still affecting many lives here in the United States and, frankly, around the world.”
At first, China closely kept information on the virus and detained whistleblowers.
The first official recognition of what became a global pandemic occurred on December 31 when authorities in Wuhan reported mysterious cases of pneumonia.
Michael Ryan, director of emergencies for the World Health Organization, said the UN body first spoke of an event in Wuhan on January 4 via Twitter and provided “detailed information” the following day to all member countries. President Donald Trump’s administration has harshly criticized both China and the WHO, blaming them for failing to stop the disease that has killed more than 1,80,000 people worldwide.
Critics say Trump is trying to deviate from his own handling of the coronavirus, which he claimed to have “totally under control” in January, but has since killed nearly 50,000 people in the United States, more than any other country.
Pompeo has not previously ruled out that the virus originated from a virology laboratory in Wuhan and has demanded international access to it.
China has discarded the theory. Its scientists say the virus was likely transmitted to humans at a meat market in Wuhan that slaughtered exotic animals. (AFP)
