US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed that China may have known about the new Corona virus "since November", reiterating his accusations to Beijing of lack of transparency, which was met with an angry response from its side on Friday.
"You will remember that the Chinese government learned of the first injuries early, perhaps in November, and certainly by mid-December," Pompeo said during a radio interview.
"They were late to inform anyone in the world, including the World Health Organization," he told announcer Larry O'Connor.
He stressed that the United States is demanding more information from China, including the original sample of the SARS Cove-2 virus, which was discovered in Wuhan.
Pompeo noted that "this issue of transparency is important not only historically to understand what happened in November, December and January, but is also important today."
"It continues to affect the lives of many here in the United States and around the world."
China replied, yesterday, by saying that "Pompeo has no basis at all" and its goal is to blame others only.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Jing Shuang said during his daily press briefing that Pompeo's statements "contradict the general consensus of the international community", adding that his country "provided the world with information in its time" and cooperated effectively.
The United States is asking for more information from China.