Missouri AG sues China over coronavirus pandemic

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt is suing the Chinese government, his office announced Tuesday.

In the lawsuit, Schmitt claims Chinese officials’ actions to suppress information on COVID-19 in December led to harsh effects in Missouri.

The lawsuit, filed this morning in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri says, “During the critical weeks of the initial outbreak, Chinese authorities deceived the public, suppressed crucial information, arrested whistleblowers, denied human-to-human transmission in the face of mounting evidence, destroyed critical medical research, permitted millions of people to be exposed to the virus, and even hoarded personal protective equipment (“PPE”)—thus causing a global pandemic that was unnecessary and preventable.”

According to the lawsuit, by late December, Chinese health officials had serious evidence of human-to-human transmission. Despite the evidence of  transmission, Chinese health officials did not report the outbreak to the World Health Organization until December 31. When Chinese authorities did inform the WHO of the outbreak, they denied the potential for human-to-human transmission.