Good luck recovering any damages from the PRC, but considering the entanglement of companies owned by the Communist ruling elite with American companies and products, one wonders if damages couldn’t be recovered from their assets in the United States. The resulting retaliation would almost certainly lead to the economic decoupling that this country so desperately needs.

In a historical move, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit today against the Chinese government, Chinese Communist Party, and other Chinese officials and institutions, alleging that their actions to suppress information, arrest whistleblowers, and deny the contagious nature of the 2019 novel Coronavirus led to loss of life and severe economic consequences in Missouri.

 “COVID-19 has done irreparable damage to countries across the globe, causing sickness, death, economic disruption, and human suffering. In Missouri, the impact of the virus is very real – thousands have been infected and many have died, families have been separated from dying loved ones, small businesses are shuttering their doors, and those living paycheck to paycheck are struggling to put food on their table,” said Attorney General Schmitt. “The Chinese government lied to the world about the danger and contagious nature of COVID-19, silenced whistleblowers, and did little to stop the spread of the disease. They must be held accountable for their actions.”

The lawsuit, filed this morning in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleges, “During the critical weeks of the initial outbreak, Chinese authorities deceived the public, suppressed crucial information, arrested whistleblowers, denied human-to-human transmission in the face of mounting evidence, destroyed critical medical research, permitted millions of people to be exposed to the virus, and even hoarded personal protective equipment (“PPE”)—thus causing a global pandemic that was unnecessary and preventable.”

According to the lawsuit, by late December, Chinese health officials had serious evidence of human-to-human transmission. Despite this evidence of human-to-human transmission, Chinese health officials did not report the outbreak to the World Health Organization until December 31. When Chinese authorities did inform the WHO of the outbreak, they denied the potential for human-to-human transmission. 

The lawsuit also alleges that, despite having knowledge of the disease, Chinese officials did little to contain the spread. According to data gathered by the New York Times, nearly 175,000 individuals left Wuhan on January 1 alone to travel for the Lunar New Year. The Chinese government also continued with New Year celebrations, despite the risk for potential further infections. 

Iran’s elite also knew about and covered up their outbreak, while taking steps to protect their leadership, and the first diagnosed case in New York was a woman returning from Iran.

This might be a job for Shurat HaDin Israeli Law Center.