Dr Anthony Fauci hinted that China is lying about its true coronavirus infection rate, just hours before Wuhan increased its death toll by...
Dr Anthony Fauci hinted that China is lying about its true coronavirus infection rate, just hours before Wuhan increased its death toll by 50 percent because of 'mistakes' in reporting.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, cast doubt on the data coming out of Beijing and said he doesn't 'feel confident at all' that China's 'low number' of cases and deaths are accurate.
He also raised questions over when the virus was discovered, fueling growing suspicions that China covered up the scale of its early outbreak.
'I mean I think any of us who have been dealing with this now for the last few months don't feel confident at all that we have all of the data of the originally infected individuals, how long there were people in the circulation or even now, how many deaths there really are in China,' Fauci told Fox News Thursday.
Dr Anthony Fauci hinted that China is lying about its true coronavirus infection rate, in an interview with Fox News Thursday
'That number's really rather a low number, that number surprises me that that number is so low.
'But then again you know it is what it is, it's behind us, lets's move ahead and address our own problem.'
Fauci's comments came just hours before China revised its death toll in coronavirus ground-zero Wuhan, upping its fatalities by almost 50 percent.
In a social media post, the city government added 1,290 deaths to the tally, bringing its total to 3,869.
Wuhan's epidemic prevention and control headquarters claimed many deaths had been 'mistakenly reported' or missed entirely.
Officials blamed insufficient testing and treatment facilities, some patients dying at home meaning they were not counted in the toll, and medical staff being overwhelmed by cases for the 'late reporting, omissions or mis-reporting'.
Chinese President Xi Jinping in March. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he doesn't 'feel confident at all' that China's 'low number' of cases and deaths are accurate
The change also pushes the nationwide death toll up by nearly 39 percent to 4,632, based on official national data released earlier on Friday.
Total confirmed cases in the city of 11 million also rose by 325 to 50,333, accounting for about two-thirds of China's total 82,367 announced cases.
The rare admission of mistakes from Chinese officials comes as the nation faces increased scrutiny over its handling of the pandemic.
US officials have repeatedly raised doubts over the numbers of fatalities and infections coming out of China, after more than 36,000 Americans have died and 690,000 have been infected with the deadly virus.
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Thursday he does not trust Chinese leaders are being truthful about the global crisis even now.
A hospital in Wuhan grapples with the pandemic in March. Fauci's comments came just hours before China increased the death toll in the city by almost 50 percent
The Pentagon chief accused Beijing of misleading Washington, in an NBC interview Thursday.
'They've been misleading us, they've been opaque if you will from the early days of this virus. So I don't have much faith that they're even being truthful with us now,' he said.
Reports have also surfaced that the Chinese government waited six days before warning the public about the outbreak of the deadly virus.
Suspicions are also mounting over the origin of the virus.
The global pandemic originally emerged in Wuhan, with Chinese officials maintaining that it came from a 'wet market' where exotic wild animals are sold for human consumption.
But President Donald Trump announced Wednesday the US is investigating claims the virus could have originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology Lab.
A growing theory has emerged that 'patient zero', who worked at the Wuhan lab where experiments were being carried out on bats, contracted the infection in a lab accident and then spread the virus into the local population after leaving work.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology. The US government is investigating claims the virus could have originated from the lab
US intelligence officials have launched a probe into the matter and are updating lawmakers on their findings, according to a CBS report this week.
Senator for Arizona Martha McSally told Fox News this week there is 'zero doubt' China has 'American blood on its hands'.
'There is zero doubt that the Chinese communist government has American blood on its hands.
'They put American lives at risk by covering up the origin and scope of the coronavirus crisis,' she said.
China has repeatedly refuted claims the virus originated in the lab and hit back at the US Friday telling it to mind its own business and to stop putting a political spin on the global pandemic.
Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said China had an 'open, transparent and responsible' attitude to the pandemic and praised the country's 'most comprehensive, strictest and most rigorous' prevention measures, during a daily briefing in Beijing on Friday.
He slammed the theory that the virus originated in the Wuhan lab: 'Anybody with any sense would know that [America's] aim is to muddy the waters, divert people's attention and evade its responsibilities.'
Political tensions between China and the US have escalated after the two countries both accused each other of being the origin of the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump initially showered praise on Chinese President Xi Jinping for the country's response to the crisis, before he began placing blame on the nation.
Chinese officials responded by shifting blame back to the US, with foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian tweeting in March: 'It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan.'
No comments