Speaking during the daily Wuhan coronavirus task force update from the White House Thursday, President Trump ripped China for failing to disclose crucial information about the disease.
"If people would have known about it, it could have been stopped in place. It could have been stopped right where it came from: China. If we would have known about it but now the whole world almost is inflicted with this horrible virus and it's too bad because we never had an economy as good as the economy we had a few weeks ago. But we'll be back," Trump said. "Certainly the world is paying a very big price for what they [China] did."
A new report shows if China had been honest about the timeline of the virus, 95 percent of cases around the world could have been prevented. In other words, hundreds of lives could have been saved and the economy wouldn't be crashing. From Axios:
A study published in March indicated that if Chinese authorities had acted three weeks earlier than they did, the number of coronavirus cases could have been reduced by 95% and its geographic spread limited.
This timeline, compiled from information reported by the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the South China Morning Post and other sources, shows that China's cover-up and the delay in serious measures to contain the virus lasted about three weeks.
"It would have been much better if we had known about this a number of months earlier. It would have been contained in that one area in China where it started. Certainly the world is paying a big price for what they did, and the world is paying a very big price for not letting that come out. Everybody knows that, we all know that," Trump said, saying his administration is working on repercussions.
China is now reporting zero new cases in the country, which the United States is skeptical to believe.
"As far as believing what they're [China] putting out now I hope it's true. Who knows. But I hope it's true," Trump continued.
Exactly. This is another reason we need a thorough, international investigation to hold #China Communist Party accountable https://t.co/SHtwdjv8h2
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) March 19, 2020