Colorado’s GOP congressmen co-sponsor resolution condemning China over COVID-19

U.S. Reps. Scott Tipton, Ken Buck and Doug Lamborn have co-sponsored a House resolution that condemns the Chinese government’s response to COVID-19 and asks the country to take responsibility for originating the novel coronavirus.

“The People’s Republic of China made multiple, serious mistakes in the early stages of the COVID–19 outbreak that heightened the severity and spread of the ongoing COVID–19 pandemic,” the resolution reads, “which include the Chinese Government’s intentional spread of misinformation to downplay the risks of the virus, a refusal to cooperate with international health authorities, internal censorship of doctors and journalists, and malicious disregard for the health of ethnic minorities.”

COVID-19 was discovered in December in the city of Wuhan. The government expelled reporters, floated a theory that the United States was behind the virus, and suggested that COVID-19 was intended to target the Chinese economy. In March, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner asked the White House to create a task force to counter misinformation about the virus from China.

Tipton blamed the severity of the global pandemic on the Chinese government’s failure to act quickly and be “immediately forthcoming” about what it knew. “This recklessness by the Chinese government cannot be tolerated, and they should face severe consequences including sanctions and reparations to nations they have impacted,” he said.

As of Thursday, the United States had the highest number of positive COVID-19 cases worldwide, at over 216,000. Although Congress passed a series of bills in March to provide money for vaccine research and testing, it remains difficult to receive a coronavirus test in the U.S.