Coronavirus: Trump ally calls for international investigation into China's handling of virus

'If it refuses to cooperate, then the world will know that it does have something to hide'

Republican Senator Josh Hawley has called for an international investigation into China’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

In an op-ed written for Fox News, the representative for Missouri blamed China for the outbreak and said that the country's government should pay for the damage the virus has caused.

“The Chinese Communist Party is responsible for the coronavirus pandemic — and it knows it. That’s why Beijing has gone on a propaganda offensive to try to deflect blame anywhere it can, including right here at the United States,” Mr Hawley wrote.

He went on to accuse the Chinese Communist Party of hiding knowledge of the virus from the rest of the world.

“We need to know exactly what the Party knew, when it knew it, and how the Party’s decisions to try and hide the virus allowed it to spread and kept the United States and other nations from protecting ourselves sooner,” he added.

The 40-year-old said that “if Beijing handled this crisis as transparently as it says it did, then it should have nothing to hide.”

“If it refuses to cooperate, then the world will know that it does have something to hide — namely, the fact that it is responsible for this pandemic,” Mr Hawley added.

The senator is an advocate of President Donald Trump and earlier this year proposed a bill to dismiss his impeachment.

The day after Mr Trump was acquitted, he praised the senator, saying that “one of the greatest supporters on this impeachment hoax was Josh Hawley.” He added that Mr Hawley has a “tremendous future.”

Mr Hawley is not the first Republican representative to blame China solely for the outbreak. Mr Trump himself has been criticised for calling Covid-19 the “Chinese virus.”

The president was asked on Wednesday why he continues to refer to the novel coronavirus in this way, with the 73-year-old dismissing claims of racism.

“Why do you keep calling this the 'Chinese virus'? A lot of people say it’s racist,” a reporter asked him.

“Because it comes from China. It’s not racist at all. It comes from China. I want to be accurate,” Mr Trump replied.​

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, upwards of 156,931 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 2,880.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended a two-week ban on gatherings of more than 50 people as part of the battle to contain the spread of the contagion.