A new Congressional report claims China could have prevented a vast majority of coronavirus cases before the end of February if officials followed international health guidelines after the first outbreak occurred in Wuhan.
The report, released Monday and authored by Republican members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, found that China initially covered up the spread of SARS-CoV-2 — which causes COVID-19 — and that the World Health Organization (WHO) was complicit because it “parroted” Chinese propaganda.
“It is beyond doubt that the [Chinese Communist Party] actively engaged in a cover-up designed to obfuscate data, hide relevant public health information, and suppress doctors and journalists who attempted to warn the world,” the report says. “Research shows the CCP could have reduced the number of cases in China by up to 95 percent had it fulfilled its obligations under international law and responded to the outbreak in a manner consistent with best practices.”
The report notes that “as early as mid-December [2019], and no later than December 27th, the CCP had enough information to assess it was legally obligated to inform the WHO that the outbreak in Wuhan was an event ‘that may constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.’”
“It is highly likely the ongoing pandemic could have been prevented,” the report said.
On Jan. 1, CCP officials ordered the Wuhan wet market from which the virus reportedly emerged to “be closed and sanitized, destroying forensic evidence that may have provided insight into the origins of the outbreak.” It wasn’t until Jan. 30 that WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
The report says WHO simply accepted Chinese propaganda about the virus and therefore misinformed other nations about its spread.
“The WHO has been complicit in the spread and normalization of CCP propaganda and disinformation,” the report stated. “By repeating as truth statements that were misleading, if not lies, the WHO negatively impacted the global response.”
“From the early stages of the outbreak, the WHO, under Director-General Tedros [Adhanom Ghebreyesus]’ leadership, parroted and upheld as inviolable truth, statements from the CCP,” the report said. “An examination of their public statements, including the praise heaped on the CCP’s handling of the pandemic, reveal a disturbing willingness to ignore science and alternative credible sources.”
In addition, China nationalized various production lines of medical equipment, in essence seizing the medical supply chains of other nations.
“According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), [the] nationalized control of the medical supply chain included ‘commandeer[ing] medical manufacturing and logistics down to the factory level,’” the report states. “It is highly likely that China’s nationalization of the manufacturing capacity of foreign companies, including 3M and General Motors, directly impacted the ability of the United States and other countries to procure [personal protective equipment] on the global market.”
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) said in a statement Monday that “it is crystal-clear that had the CCP been transparent, and had the head of the WHO cared more about global health than appeasing the CCP, lives could have been spared and widespread economic devastation could have been mitigated.”