President Donald Trump again suggested China is responsible for the global coronavirus outbreak, complaining at a news conference that the disease “could have been stopped” before it spread to the rest of the world.

“If people would have known about it, it could have been stopped in place,” Trump said at a White House news conference on Thursday. “It could have been stopped right where it came from, China, if we would have known about it, if they would have known about.”

“But now the whole world, almost, is inflicted with this horrible virus,” Trump said.

As he opened his news conference, he again called the disease the “Chinese virus,” a term that officials in Beijing have said is offensive. His use of the word “inflicted” echoed a Republican senator, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who has said that China should be held accountable for the outbreak.

Source : Bloomberg