Rick Scott: World Health Organization Helped China 'Cover Up' Coronavirus

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) on Tuesday called on Congress to hold a hearing and investigate the World Health Organization’s (WHO) role in helping China conceal the threat of the coronavirus.

Scott said in a statement on Tuesday:

The mission of the WHO is to get public health information to the world so every country can make the best decisions to keep their citizens safe. When it comes to Coronavirus, the WHO failed. They need to be held accountable for their role in promoting misinformation and helping Communist China cover up a global pandemic. We know Communist China is lying about how many cases and deaths they have, what they knew and when they knew it – and the WHO never bothered to investigate further. Their inaction cost lives.

In February, Scott, a former hospital association executive, called on the WHO to do an in-depth analysis of the effects of the coronavirus.

Scott also reportedly remains concerned over China’s efforts to isolate Taiwan and the WHO’s refusal to include Taiwan in its membership, meetings, and information. Scott has also cosponsored legislation to increase the United States’ support of Taiwan’s move to join the WHO.

The Florida senator has also criticized WHO officials who praised China’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.

WHO official Bruce Aylward said recently, “If I had COVID-19, I’d want to be treated in China.”

“They’ve done this at scale, they know what they’re doing. They’re really, really good at it, and they’re really keen to help,” he added.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also recently praised the “transparency” of the Chinese response, even though China has reportedly stopped counting “mild coronavirus cases.

Aylward also reportedly refused to answer questions over whether Taiwan would be allowed to join the WHO.

“This is shameful,” Scott said on Sunday. “WHO refuses to answer a basic question about #Taiwan, who they’ve refused to allow into the organization. More and more, the WHO seems to be a pawn of the Chinese Communist Party, which is very dangerous for world health.”

The WHO also echoed reports from Chinese authorities, claiming in January that there is “no clear” evidence of human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus.

“As soon as Congress is back in session, there should be a hearing, along with a full investigation, to review whether American taxpayers should continue to spend millions of dollars every year to fund an organization that willfully parroted propaganda from the Chinese Communist Party,” Scott concluded in his statement.

“The @WHO receives millions of dollars in US taxpayer $$ and helped the Chinese Communist Party cover up a global pandemic,” Scott wrote on Tuesday.