– Kina skjulte epidemiens alvor for å hamstre medisinsk utstyr

.Det amerikanske Sikkerhetsdepartementets hovedkvarter i Washington, D.C. Foto: US Government Accountability Office.

I en intern etterretningsrapport fra det amerikanske Sikkerhetsdepartementet som Associated Press (AP) har fått tilgang til, heter det at kinesiske myndigheter skjulte koronaepidemiens omfang og smittefare med hensikt for å hamstre medisinsk utstyr.

Chinese leaders “intentionally concealed the severity” of the pandemic from the world in early January, according to a four-page Department of Homeland Security intelligence report dated May 1 and obtained by The Associated Press.

Rapporten kommer for en dag kort etter at både USAs president Donald Trump og utenriksminister Mike Pompeo har gjentatt sin kritikk av Kina for ikke å ha advart verden i tide. Sikkerhetsdepartementet konstaterer at Kina samtidig kjøpte inn medisinsk utstyr, unnlot å eksportere medisinsk utstyr, og skapte forvirring om bakgrunnen for det:

Not classified but marked “for official use only,” the DHS analysis states that, while downplaying the severity of the coronavirus, China increased imports and decreased exports of medical supplies. It attempted to cover up doing so by “denying there were export restrictions and obfuscating and delaying provision of its trade data,” the analysis states.

Beijing skal også ha ført Verdens Helseorganisasjon (WHO) bak lyset:

The report also says China held off informing the World Health Organization that the coronavirus “was a contagion” for much of January so it could order medical supplies from abroad — and that its imports of face masks and surgical gowns and gloves increased sharply.

Those conclusions are based on the 95% probability that China’s changes in imports and export behavior were not within normal range, according to the report.