Donald Trump says China's incompetence led to 'mass worldwide killing'

US President Donald Trump has hit back at Beijing for blaming everybody but China for the coronavirus outbreak which has claimed over 325,000 lives worldwide. Taking to Twitter, Trump lashed out at a Chinese official who has supposedly released a statement in which the person did not put the blame on China for the pandemic.

Calling the official “dope”, the US President said that it needs to be explained to the person that China’s incompetence has led to the mass killing of people worldwide.

Referring to Trump’s letter to the WHO chief, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson had earlier advised the US that it should focus on beating COVID-19 instead of giving an ultimatum to the organisation that leads global epidemic response. The spokesperson said that some countries prioritise to trace the origin of the virus, but the vast majority believes that containment and control of COVID-19 is currently the pressing task.

30-day deadline

Trump has given a 30-day deadline to the World Health Organisation to make major improvements, warning that otherwise the temporary funding freeze will be made permanent. In a letter to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Trump said that his administration’s probe into the UN health agency’s COVID-19 response confirmed its “alarming lack of independence” from China.

Read: Donald Trump Gives WHO 30-day Deadline To Make 'major Improvements'

The US President accused the WHO of ignoring credible reports of the virus spreading in Wuhan, the first epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, and failed to investigate credible reports that conflicted with the accounts of Chinese authorities. The US President said that the health agency failed to press China for the timely admittance of a WHO team of international medical experts, even after “belatedly” declaring the outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

“I will make temporary freeze of United States funding to the World Health Organisation permanent and reconsider our membership in the organisation,” wrote Trump.

Read: Trump Says US' Highest COVID-19 Cases Worldwide Is 'badge Of Honour'