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.”
Quick-Thinking Florida Teen Fights Off Alligator with Her Bare Hands: ‘Credit to God’
Cartel drones pose ‘dangerous’ drug trafficking risk in border state, official warns
Here’s the money people in each state could pocket under Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ savings
Trump Says He Just Learned That Adam Schiff Engaged in ‘Very Serious Crimes’
Watch: UFC Star Gets on the Phone with Trump Immediately After Big Win
Attacks on first responders would be federal crime under bipartisan bill
UK smuggled in thousands of Afghans after 2022 data leak
GOP’s Mike Rogers raises $1.5 million in bid to flip Michigan Senate seat
Republican leading House Budget Committee looks ahead after passing Big Beautiful Bill
Yankees Star Aaron Judge Includes Subtle Biblical Message on His All-Star Game Gear
Senate GOP braces for test vote on Trump’s $9.4B clawback package
Florida teen fights off alligator that dragged her underwater
Video of suspected ‘honor killing’ plot resurfaces as parents stand trial for attempted murder
Wild Footage: Raging Floodwaters Wreak Havoc on NYC Subway System, Strand Riders
The First Lady Was the One Who Pointed Out Putin’s Lies to the President: Trump
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.
