WASHINGTON - U.S. officials believe China covered up the extent of the coronavirus outbreak — and how contagious the disease is — to stock up on medical supplies.
That's according to U.S. intelligence documents obtained by The Associated Press. They say Chinese leaders “intentionally concealed the severity” of the pandemic from the world in early January.
However, experts have said that many of the Chinese government’s missteps appear to have been due to bureaucratic hurdles, tight controls on information, and officials hesitant to report bad news.
Chinese officials muffled doctors who warned about the virus early on and repeatedly downplayed the threat of the outbreak.
