National security adviser Robert O’Brien said China’s “cover-up” of the coronavirus outbreak in the early days of the pandemic was similar to the Soviet cover-up at Chernobyl.
“This was a virus that was unleashed by China,” he said during a Sunday interview on CBS’s Face the Nation. “There was a cover-up that someday they’re going to do an HBO show like they did with Chernobyl on this virus.”
Host Margaret Brennan pushed back on O’Brien’s remarks and asked him to clarify what he believed the Chinese government covered up when the coronavirus was first spotted in Wuhan late last year.
“A cover-up of the virus. I mean, the Chinese knew this was happening in November, December, January, and were giving false information to the WHO [World Health Organization],” he responded, later adding, “They kicked out all the reporters and they wouldn’t let CDC investigators come in, and they’re still stonewalling the investigation, so we don’t know who in the Chinese government did it.”
O’Brien argued that the “real information” on the virus “was not allowed to get out” by the Chinese Communist Party. He noted that it will be difficult to understand how much of the virus’s outbreak was covered up, stating, “We’ll get to the bottom of it eventually, but it’s hard to do in a communist, closed society.”
It is not yet clear how the outbreak began. Some officials have said that it was a trans-species infection that stemmed from a wet market in Wuhan while others, including President Trump, believe the virus may have accidentally escaped a government lab in the city.
The incident at Chernobyl highlighted one of the atrocities committed by the Soviet Union prior to its fall. A nuclear reactor in northern Ukraine melted down and began to emit radioactive particles into the air. Instead of alerting the global community, the Soviets covered up the situation. The global community found out about the crisis after radioactive particles were detected in the air in Sweden.
The cover-up was featured in the 2019 HBO mini-series Chernobyl.
