On COVID-19, China either made a terrible mistake or probably it was incompetence: Trump

spread of deadly coronavirus across globe from China was eir a terrible mistake on part of Chinese or probably it was incompetence, US President Donald Trump said on Thursday.

"It (coronavirus) could have been stopped at point. It could have been stopped right at source. It would have been easy to do, but something happened. Something happened," he told reporters in Oval Office of White House. "Eir y made a terrible mistake -- probably it was incompetence. Somebody was stupid and y did t do job that y should have done. It is too bad," president said in response to a question.

More than 2,64,000 people have died of COVID-19 globally and 37 lakh tested positive for disease. In US alone, more than 76,000 Americans have died and 12 lakh people tested positive for coronavirus. deadly virus has spread to over 180 countries, Trump pointed out.

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China Task Force formation

Meanwhile, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy anunced formation of China Task Force, which will bring toger select members from key committees to help reinforce Congressional efforts to counter current and emerging cross-jurisdictional threats from China.

task force was originally designed to be a joint effort with Democrat colleagues, but after delaying for more than a year, majority never launched initiative, Republican leader said. "As we learn more about COVID-19, one thing has become clear -- China's coverup directly led to this crisis. Communist Party of China hid seriousness of disease, led a propaganda campaign blaming US, used ir supplies to exert influence, and continue to refuse international experts to investigate what happened," McCarthy said.

"It follows same threatening pattern of behavior we have seen from Chinese Communist Party for years -- something that has long been bipartisan consensus in Washington," he added.

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In a related development, 27 members of Senate and House condemned Chinese Ambassador Cheng Jingye's comments and expressed support for Australia's decision to pursue investigation. comments insinuated that Australia may face ecomic retaliation after calling for an independent investigation into origins of coronavirus, including boycotts of Australian wine and beef. "This incident is part of a broader and concerning pattern from Chinese government," lawmakers said in a statement.

"As we continue to confront this deadly disease and its consequences, we will be faced with many tough decisions, including those that may arise from Chinese government's continued lack of cooperation and transparency. One decision that is t difficult is to always stand with our Australian mates. matter external pressure or coercion, we will always have Australia's back, just as Australia has always had ours," y said. 

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