China did a hit and run with the coronavirus.
They were behind the wheel driving a car they lost control of. When they hit the first person (patient zero — an alleged lab tech) by accident they panicked. Fox News reported that their multiple highly reliable sources squarely put the blame for the release on the government laboratory in Wuhan.
After the first person was infected, they fled the scene, destroyed evidence, tampered with witnesses, lied to authorities and refused outside help. Like all hit and runs — if the person responsible would have just admitted his negligence, his liability would be defined and limited, and people would be saved from future harm. But when they fled the scene their liability escalated beyond mere negligence or even gross negligence and now, they are liable for criminal acts that flow from the first incident.
China was negligent at least, and grossly negligent at worst, in the way they initially handled the study of coronavirus in their lab. Ordinary negligence is when a person fails to use reasonable care, resulting in damage or injury to another. Gross negligence is defined as a conscious and voluntary disregard of the need to use reasonable care, which is likely to cause foreseeable grave injury or harm to persons or property or both. Looking at the law, the evidence, and using the standards of common practices in the workplace and common sense, China was grossly negligent in the operation of their Wuhan Laboratory.
China clearly knew of the dangers of the virus they were studying yet they allowed it to escape the lab and get to the local population where it spread. The mere unintentional release of the virus at that moment was an act of "negligence per se" (meaning that the actor is strictly liable for their actions because their actions are deemed negligent as a matter of law.) That is to say the act of the virus' release cannot happen without negligence. When the coronavirus was unintentionally released to the public that is when their civil liability attached. Their actions thereafter morphed into criminal acts and behavior.
In addition, China had a duty to warn its own population of the dangers of the public release of coronavirus and a duty as well to warn the world because they knew beyond a shadow of doubt the immediate harm they were exposing to others. The "duty to warn" is an obligation that arises in the law that when someone puts another in harm's way, they have the duty to warn that person of the harm so they can avoid it or to minimize the effects. A failure to warn comes at the price of the harm caused to innocents.
In addition to a duty to warn. China had a "duty to rescue" those they put in harms way. The law provides that a person who puts another in harm's way can be held liable for the failure to rescue that person if they were harmed as a result of the actions of the person who put them peril.
By fleeing the scene, covering up evidence, destroying evidence, failing to warn others beyond their borders of the death and destruction that was coming, failing to rescue and possibly even killing material witnesses to their crimes, they now are liable for criminal penalties as well as civil ones.
China and the media have the audacity to blame the victims. In a desperate attempt to divert attention and responsibility China and the media are engaged in a campaign of disinformation and shifting the blame to others for their "lack of response."
China must be brought to justice. The death and misery they caused to citizens of the world in addition to the economic damages that flow from their criminal acts cannot go unanswered. China murdered more innocents than many wars. The rebuilding of our economy will take years and the emotional and human toll will never be forgotten or forgiven.
Bradley Blakeman was a member of President George W. Bush's senior White House staff from 2001 to 2004. He is also a frequent contributor to Fox News and Fox Business Channel. He currently is a Principal with the 1600group.com a consulting company. Read Bradley Blakeman's Reports — More Here.
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