AGL 38.54 Increased By ▲ 0.97 (2.58%)
AIRLINK 129.50 Decreased By ▼ -3.00 (-2.26%)
BOP 5.61 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.53%)
CNERGY 3.86 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (2.39%)
DCL 8.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-1.58%)
DFML 41.76 Increased By ▲ 0.76 (1.85%)
DGKC 88.30 Decreased By ▼ -1.86 (-2.06%)
FCCL 35.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.23%)
FFBL 67.35 Increased By ▲ 0.85 (1.28%)
FFL 10.61 Increased By ▲ 0.46 (4.53%)
HUBC 108.76 Increased By ▲ 2.36 (2.22%)
HUMNL 14.66 Increased By ▲ 1.26 (9.4%)
KEL 4.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-2.26%)
KOSM 6.95 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1.46%)
MLCF 41.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-0.36%)
NBP 59.60 Increased By ▲ 1.02 (1.74%)
OGDC 183.00 Increased By ▲ 1.75 (0.97%)
PAEL 26.25 Increased By ▲ 0.55 (2.14%)
PIBTL 5.97 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (2.4%)
PPL 146.70 Decreased By ▼ -1.70 (-1.15%)
PRL 23.61 Increased By ▲ 0.39 (1.68%)
PTC 16.56 Increased By ▲ 1.32 (8.66%)
SEARL 68.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.49 (-0.71%)
TELE 7.23 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.14%)
TOMCL 35.95 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.14%)
TPLP 7.85 Increased By ▲ 0.45 (6.08%)
TREET 14.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.28%)
TRG 50.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.40 (-0.79%)
UNITY 26.75 Increased By ▲ 0.35 (1.33%)
WTL 1.21 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 9,806 Increased By 37.8 (0.39%)
BR30 29,678 Increased By 278.1 (0.95%)
KSE100 92,304 Increased By 366.3 (0.4%)
KSE30 28,840 Increased By 96.6 (0.34%)

The coronavirus is getting a new name from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo - the "Wuhan virus" - to the anger of China where the global pandemic was first detected. For the second day in a row, Pompeo on Friday publicly referred to COVID-19 as the "Wuhan virus" or "Wuhan coronavirus," a reference to the central Chinese metropolis that is hardest hit.

Asked in a CNBC interview about the success of Beijing's response to the outbreak, Pompeo said, "I'm happy you complimented the Chinese Communist Party today, but remember this is the Wuhan coronavirus that's caused this."

And in a news conference on Thursday, Pompeo highlighted $37 million in US aid for countries hit by "the Wuhan virus's spread."

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, asked in a briefing this week about the terms "Wuhan virus" or "China virus," said it was "highly irresponsible" for media to use them.

"By calling it 'China virus' and thus suggesting its origin without any supporting facts or evidence, some media clearly want China to take the blame and their ulterior motives are laid bare. The epidemic is a global challenge," he said.

Zhao insisted that no conclusion has been made on whether the virus originated in China. COVID-19 cases were first reported - and initially suppressed by authorities - in late December in Wuhan, where scientists believe the virus was transmitted to humans at a market that sold exotic animals for consumption.

Pompeo rejected Chinese statements that the virus may have originated elsewhere and said it was "incredibly frustrating" that Beijing has not shared more information.

"I'm happy about the efforts that they have taken, but no less authority than the Chinese Communist Party said it came from Wuhan," he said in the CNBC interview. "So don't take Mike Pompeo's word for it. We have pretty high confidence that we know where this began, and we have high confidence too that there was information that could have been made available more quickly."

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2020

Comments

Comments are closed.