Trump says US may seek damages from China over virus

There have been more than 55,000 Covid-19 deaths in the US

US President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 27, 2020. Bloomberg

US President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that he may seek damages from China over the coronavirus outbreak which began in the Chinese city of Wuhan and spread around the world.

"We are not happy with China," Mr Trump said at a White House briefing. "We are not happy with that whole situation because we believe it could have been stopped at the source.

"It could have been stopped quickly and it wouldn't have spread all over the world.

"There are a lot of ways you can hold them accountable. We're doing some very serious investigations as you probably know."

Mr Trump was asked about a recent German newspaper editorial that called on Beijing to pay Berlin $165 billion (Dh606.06bn) because of economic damage caused by the virus.

"We can do something much easier than that," he said.

"Germany is looking at things, we are looking at things. We are talking about a lot more money than Germany's talking about.

"We haven't determined the final amount yet. It's very substantial.

"This is worldwide damage. This is damage to the US, but this is damage to the world."

There have been more than 56,000 coronavirus-related deaths in the US and the pandemic has shut down huge parts of the economy, leaving tens of millions unemployed.

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