Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said Thursday that the Chinese government's reports on the status of the coronavirus epidemic in the country cannot be trusted, as "they are not leveling with anybody" about what's happening.
"I think the Chinese government has not been honest at all about this," Hawley said on Fox News' "Fox & Friends" Thursday, after saying he had been briefed twice by the Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services and was really, really concern[ed]" about what he heard.
"They are completely overwhelmed at this point," Hawley said of the Chinese government. "They are not leveling with anybody, certainly not with us."
Chinese health officials on Thursday confirmed more than 15,000 new infections of the coronavirus, and the Chinese Communist Party secretaries of Hubei province and its capital city of Wuhan, where the outbreak originated, have been ousted. The Chinese national health commission has confirmed more than 59,000 coronavirus cases and 1,300 deaths from the virus.
Hawley said on Thursday that the Chinese Communist Party caused a "global health epidemic as a result of their campaign of misinformation and "because they have not addressed this head-on and they weren't prepared."
He added, "What that means for us is we have got to take every step in this country to keep our citizens safe — to keep our travelers safe. And because China certainly is not going to do it."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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