New York county residents sue WHO over coronavirus response: report
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Residents in one New York county have filed a class-action lawsuit on Monday against the World Health Organization (WHO), accusing the agency of covering up the coronavirus pandemic.
The three residents in Westchester County -- which was seen as an original hotspot for the virus -- claim the WHO failed to quickly declare a pandemic and monitor China’s response to the original outbreak.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It seeks unspecified damages for the alleged harm the organization caused to the county's roughly 756,000 adult residents.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), addresses a press conference about the update on COVID-19 at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on Feb. 24. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP, File)
“The WHO mishandled and mismanaged the response to the discovery of the coronavirus and upon information and belief, engaged in a cover-up of the COVID- 19 pandemic in China,“ part of the suit read, according to the New York Post.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The lawsuit filed by Richard Kling -- a doctor, Steve Rotker and Gennaro Purchia was filed in the federal court in White Plains, N.Y.
Both Kling and Rotker are from New Rochelle which imposed a one-mile "containment area" around the area back in March to limit the spread of the virus.
The residents also claim the WHO was “causing and/or contributing to the subsequent spread of the coronavirus all over the world, including to the United States of America and the State of New York," according to the paper.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The three added the organization failed to provide treatment guidelines, advise members on how to respond including through travel restrictions, and coordinate a global response, according to Reuters.
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Westchester County has seen 776 deaths from COVID-19 as of Monday night, according to data from Johns Hopkins.