The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States has alleged that China did not allow the World Health Organisation (WHO) issue a global alert on COVID-19 in early January.
According to a report by Newsweek, the Chinese were also stockpiling medical supplies prior to the announcement by WHO which classified COVID-19 as an epidemic initially before scaling it up to a pandemic.
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According to the CIA, China threatened to stop cooperating with the WHO which was investigating the scope and source of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country at the time.
The report is expected to inflame tensions between the United States and China weeks after Trump openly blamed China for the pandemic, stating that he had evidence which was classified.
COVID-19 had killed more than 80,000 Americans and infected more than 1.4 million others. The American economy is in a recession and all the jobs gained under the presidency of Donald Trump has been eroded.
A German Newspaper, Der Spiegel had also released a report by German intelligence which accused the Chinese Premier, Xi Jinping of personally applying pressure on WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on January 21.
Although the WHO denied that Xi Jinping intervened personally, it refused to clarify or deny if Chinese officials put pressure on the global body to delay the announcement of a public health emergency of International concern (PHEIC).