WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo charged Thursday that China may have known of the new coronavirus as early as November, renewing accusations that Beijing has not been transparent.
"You'll recall that the first cases of this were known by the Chinese government maybe as early as November, but certainly by mid-December," Pompeo said in an interview.
Pompeo said the United States still wanted more information from China including the original sample of the SARS-CoV-2 virus detected in the metropolis of Wuhan. Michael Ryan, emergencies director at 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.
Critics say that Trump is seeking to deflect 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.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Pompeo presses China to allow lab inspections amid pandemic
Read more »
Pompeo warns US may never restore WHO funding
Read more »
$2.5-M lab equipment, test kits for COVID-19 arrive in PH from ChinaA $2.5-million laboratory equipment and 45,000 test kits funded by the Asian Development Bank arrived in the country from China on Wednesday.
Read more »
US, Australia navies ‘team up’ in South China Sea amid unrelenting Chinese aggressionMANILA, Philippines—American and Australian warships have come together in the South China Sea for joint drills, as China continued to aggressively assert its claim of owning the entire
Read more »
Philippines protests China’s creation of new districts in South China SeaBREAKING: The two new Chinese districts cover features in the disputed South China Sea, including the Philippine-claimed Spratly Islands, Scarborough Shoal and Fiery Cross Reef.
Read more »
Beijing names islands in disputed South China SeaBEIJING — China on Tuesday defended its naming of 80 islands and other geographical features in the South China Sea in a move likely to anger neighbors as the country asserts its territorial
Read more »