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.”
Trump spares no one at WHCA dinner, taking aim at Dems, press and his own Cabinet
Gretchen Whitmer endorses moderate Haley Stevens in tight upcoming Senate primary
California trans suspect arrested in mother’s killing after neighbor recalls heated argument
House Republicans confront NJ governor over 6,600 noncitizens registered to vote in alleged software failure
Illegal immigrant who killed Nashville restaurant owner to face ICE deportation after prison
Jon Bon Jovi Abruptly Ends Madison Square Garden Show: ‘I’m Gonna Have to Cool It’
White House Moves to ‘Restore Trust’ in Smithsonian Institution
Sophie Cunningham’s New Shoes Sell Out in Hours After Her Stand Against Wokeness
White House Correspondents’ Association dinner do-over features enhanced security measures, smaller crowd
NATO Country Shoots Down Suspected Russia Drone for First Time
Succession: Why Congress has no clear plan when lawmakers can’t serve
Combat vet senator chokes up over fallen friend in fiery floor speech about Iran war: ‘We will finish it’
EXCLUSIVE: ICE removes former NFL player Daniel Ogama Adongo after visa overstay, criminal record
At least 200,000 Europeans forced to evacuate raging wildfires
Leftists Seethe as Ella Langley’s Chart-Topping Country Song Makes History
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.
