The U.S. Intelligence Community has concluded that China concealed the extent of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak in the country, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.
A classified report submitted to the White House states that China intentionally lowered its reported number of coronavirus cases, according to three officials familiar with the matter. The officials did not indicate if the report estimates what China’s actual infection rate is.
The news comes a day after Dr. Deborah Birx, response coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, suggested that the U.S. response to the pandemic may not have been as effective as possible due to “missing” data from China.
“The medical community interpreted the Chinese data as, this was serious, but smaller than anyone expected,” Birx said at a press briefing. “Because, probably…we were missing a significant amount of the data, now that we see what happened to Italy and we see what happened to Spain.”
South Carolina inmate who believes he is immortal cannot be executed due to mental illness, judge rules
Trump marks Cinco de Mayo with ‘NICE’ post, echoing past viral taco bowl moment
Family of Murdered College Student Furious as Killer Learns His Sentence: ‘It’s Not Enough’
Family makes terrifying discovery in basement following growing suspicions
Comer demands records after DC police leaders sidelined amid alleged crime data manipulation
Government Sues New York Times for Alleged Discrimination Against White Man
Obama’s Recent Political Moves Have Caused ‘Genuine Tension’ with Michelle
Trump’s grip on GOP tested in Indiana as primary battles target defiant Republicans
Trump-backed Vivek Ramaswamy wins Ohio GOP gubernatorial primary, will face Democrat Amy Acton
Sherrod Brown secures Ohio Dem nomination, faces GOP’s Husted in key battle for Senate majority
Trump Makes Bombshell Comment About Arming Iranian Protesters
Trump posts mockup of ICE rebranded to ‘NICE’ after supporter’s suggestion
Cuba, China, and the pope: Key takeaways from Marco Rubio’s raucous White House press conference
ICE deports illegal immigrant convicted of attempting to kill newborn after blue state prison release
Minnesota lawmakers fail at trying to get Omar to testify about alleged fraud, GOP leader talks next steps
China could have prevented 95 percent of coronavirus infections if it had acted sooner to stem the outbreak, according to one study.
“I would urge every nation: Do your best to collect the data. Do your best to share that information,” Pompeo said. “We’re doing that.”
Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) has repeatedly claimed that China was underreporting cases of coronavirus. Cotton argued in a January 28 letter to Pompeo and Health Secretary Alex Azar that the Trump administration should ban travel from China, in part because China was not reporting the extent of the epidemic.
“As of [Tuesday] morning, China has reported that the Wuhan coronavirus has infected more than 4,500 people and killed more than 100,” Cotton wrote. “But the real number is likely far higher — perhaps in the hundreds of thousands — given the Chinese Communist Party’s long history of covering up and minimizing these crises.”
Story cited here.
