China ‘hid coronavirus severity to hoard medical supplies’
US officials believe China covered up the extent of the coronavirus outbreak — and how contagious the disease was — to stock up on medical supplies.
US officials believe China covered up the extent of the coronavirus outbreak — and how contagious the disease was — to stock up on medical supplies needed to respond to it, intelligence documents show.
Chinese leaders “intentionally concealed the severity” of the pandemic from the world in early January, according to a four-page Department of Homeland Security intelligence report dated May 1 and obtained by The Associated Press.
Not classified but marked “for official use only”, the DHS analysis states that, while downplaying the severity of the coronavirus, China increased imports and decreased exports of medical supplies. It attempted to cover up doing so by “denying there were export restrictions and obfuscating and delaying provision of its trade data”, the analysis states.
The report also says China held off informing the World Health Organisation that the coronavirus “was a contagion” for much of January so it could order medical supplies from abroad — and that its imports of face masks and surgical gowns and gloves increased sharply.
Those conclusions are based on the 95 per cent probability China’s changes in imports and exports behaviour were not within normal range.
In a tweet on Sunday, Donald Trump appeared to blame US intelligence officials for not making clearer sooner just how dangerous a potential outbreak could be. He has been defensive over whether he failed to act after receiving early warnings from intelligence officials and others about COVID-19 and its potential impact.
“Intelligence has just reported to me that I was correct, and that they did NOT bring up the CoronaVirus subject matter until late into January, just prior to my banning China from the U.S.,” the President wrote without citing specifics. “Also, they only spoke of the Virus in a very non-threatening, or matter of fact, manner.”
AP
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