Trump faults China for COVID-19 spread, says US investigating

Tuesday, 28 April 2020 09:02

US President Donald Trump has renewed his attack on China, claiming "serious investigations" are being conducted into how the country handled COVID-19.

During his White House news briefing, he continued to target China's handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

"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 said.

Earlier on Monday, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro accused China of "profiteering" from the pandemic.

"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.

It comes just days after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US "strongly believed" Beijing tried to cover up how dangerous COVID-19 is.

So far, the coronavirus has killed more than 211,000 people around the world and infected over 3,000,000 more.

More from International News

UN warns funding cuts threaten vital aid

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) have sounded the alarm over severe funding shortfalls that are hindering life-saving humanitarian aid in countries including Nigeria, Burundi, and Colombia.
Multiple dead in Vancouver after vehicle plows into street festival

A number of people were killed and multiple others were injured in Vancouver after a driver drove into a crowd at a Filipino street festival in the western Canadian city, police said on Saturday.
Rome and the world bid farewell to Pope Francis

Presidents, royalty and simple mourners bade farewell to Pope Francis on Saturday at a solemn funeral ceremony, where a cardinal appealed for the pontiff's legacy of caring for migrants, the downtrodden and the environment to be kept alive.
Trump, Zelenskyy meet in Vatican basilica to seek Ukraine peace

US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, met one-on-one in a marble-lined Vatican basilica on Saturday to try to revive faltering efforts to end Russia's war with Ukraine.