Coronavirus: CIA report indicts China, says it stopped WHO from raising alarm

- CIA report has accused China of preventing WHO from raising an alarm over coronavirus when the pandemic emerged as a clear threat in Wuhan

- The Western intelligence agency based its claim on the ground that China threatened to stop funding the global health agency

- There are over 4 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the world-- 1.4 million of them officially confirmed in the United States

- Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

China tried to prevent the World Health Organisation (WHO) from ringing an alarm bell about the coronavirus crisis in January before it later boomeranged, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has alleged.

Coronavirus, an infection that began in Wuhan city of China, was declared a global pandemic by WHO after the virus took a dangerous leap out of its epicentre and plunged over 200 countries into unrest.

With 4.5 million cases confirmed globally (over one million them reported in the United States of America) CIA, a civilian foreign intelligence service of the USA claimed WHO was silenced when Beijing was stockpiling medical supplies from around the world.

READ ALSO: 5 punishments to expect in Ghana if Cabinet approves community sentencing policy

According to News Week, the CIA alleged that China threatened to cut ties with the global health agency should it sound the alarm of the then imminent crisis.

The allegation by the Western intelligence service was a move to heighten the tension between the United States and China over a pandemic that has claimed 280,000.

Chinese president, Xi Jinping, was also accused of applying pressure on WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on January 21.

Although WHO debunked the claim that the Chinese president silenced its director-general, the publication, according to the CIA finding, further disclosed that the conspiracy that trailed WHO's silence was what further strained the relation between the two world powers, stopping President Donald Trump from further funding the global health agency.

READ ALSO: President Akufo-Addo assures Ghanaians abandoned KATH maternity and children’s block will be completed in 36 months

YEN.com.gh had reported that President Trump announced that the US is halting funding to the WHO to allow for a review on how the health agency has been steering fight against coronavirus.

During his address on Tuesday, April 14, Trump accused WHO of contributing to the rapid spread of the virus and also playing a cover-up role thus complicating the fight against the global pandemic.

Trump further blamed WHO for what he termed as being Chinacentric despite the US contributing $400 million to $500 million to the WHO each year.

"I am instructing my administration to halt funding of the WHO while a review is conducted to assess its role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus."

Exclusive interview with Date Rush contestant, Ignatius Baidoo | #Yencomgh

READ ALSO: We are not responsible for Ghana’s elections - NIA replies NDC

Get interactive via our Facebook page.

Source: YEN.com.gh