Trump faults China for coronavirus' spread, says U.S. investigating
Send a link to a friend
[April 28, 2020]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.
President Donald Trump said on Monday that China could have stopped the
coronavirus before it swept the globe and said his administration was
conducting "serious investigations" into what happened.
"We're doing very serious investigations ... We are not happy with
China," Trump said at a White House news conference. "There are a lot of
ways you can hold them accountable."
"We believe it could have been stopped at the source. It could have been
stopped quickly and it wouldn't have spread all over the world."
Trump's criticism was the latest from his administration to target
China's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, which began late last year
in the Chinese city of Wuhan and has grown into a global pandemic.
Last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States
"strongly believed" Beijing failed to report the outbreak in a timely
manner and covered up how dangerous the respiratory illness caused by
the virus was.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Twitter on Monday
Pompeo should "stop playing the political game. Better save energy on
saving lives."
The coronavirus outbreak has killed more than 207,000 people around the
world, including more than 55,000 in the United States, according to a
Reuters tally.
Earlier on Monday, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro accused China
of sending low-quality and even counterfeit coronavirus antibody testing
kits to the United States and of "profiteering" from the pandemic.
[to top of second column]
|
President Donald Trump leads a coronavirus response news conference
in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 27,
2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Navarro, an outspoken critic of Beijing whom Trump has appointed to
work on supply-line issues relating to the health crisis, said more
testing both for the virus and antibodies was vital to getting
Americans currently in lockdown back to work.
"That's where, perhaps, we can find people who are immune, that can
be in the workplace in a more safe environment. But we can't have
China, for example, bringing in those fake tests and counterfeit
tests, because that's going to be very disruptive," Navarro said in
an interview on Fox News.
"There's a lot of these antibody tests coming in from China now that
are low quality, false readings and things like that," he said.
The United States is heavily reliant on China for basic equipment
and drugs.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Chris
Reese and Sonya Hepinstall)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |