Residents of New York sued WHO: she is accused of hiding information about the coronavirus

New Yorkers filed a class action lawsuit against the World Health Organization. They claim that WHO was hiding important information about the coronavirus pandemic. This publication writes New York Post.

On April 20, the lawsuit was filed in federal court in White Plains. The plaintiffs are three residents of Westchester County, New York: Richard Kling, Steve Rotker, Gennaro Purcia. The lawsuit accuses WHO of gross negligence in responding to the global outbreak of coronavirus.

The indictment states that WHO “improperly handled and mismanaged the response to the detection of coronavirus.” The document also claims that the organization "was engaged in hiding the COVID-19 pandemic in China."

WHO is also accused of claiming that it “contributed to the subsequent spread of coronavirus throughout the world, including in the United States of America and the state of New York.”

The plaintiffs claim that they “sustained injuries and injuries as a result of WHO’s negligent conduct”. Both Kling and Rothker are from New Rochelle, the place where the coronavirus was discovered on March 2 at Lawrence Garbuz, 50, a lawyer. The man became the first known carrier of the virus in the city after visiting the synagogue. In this regard, the first in-state containment zone COVID-19 was created there.

According to the plaintiffs, WHO should compensate for the “uncountable” damage that it allegedly inflicted on approximately 756 thousand residents of Westchester County.

On the subject: New York authorities ask the White House for $ 7,5 billion in help: the number of coronavirus victims has risen sharply

However, Chimène Keitner, a professor of international law at the University of California at Hastings College of Law in San Francisco, said the lawsuit was likely to be dismissed. This is because US law provides WHO with “functional immunity” from such cases.

Recall that on April 15, US President Donald Trump announced that he had ordered the suspension of the payment of American contributions to the budget of the World Health Organization. He explained this by saying that WHO, in his opinion, could not cope with the coronavirus pandemic. Trump also noted that organization financing is terminated for the duration of the investigation, which will be devoted to "the role of WHO in the serious leadership incompetence and concealment of the spread of coronavirus."