An outbreak of pneumonia or a similar respiratory illness has appeared in China, though details remain murky. Because of this lack of understanding, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and others, including Senator Rick Scott (R-FL), wrote to President Biden calling for travel restrictions to China.
The World Health Organization (WHO) suggested this may not be a new disease but rather a hard-hitting surge in common respiratory infections such as "walking pneumonia," a milder form of illness, as Nature Journal reported. Because people have been living under COVID-19 restrictions for the past three years, as the reason suggests, people are thus more vulnerable to catching something else and being more severely affected by it.
Sen. Rubio, however, said in his letter that China "has an incentive to lie" and waiting for recommendations from WHO should not be considered due to its "track record of slavish deference to the CCP." Given his massive report of circumstantial evidence suggesting the Chinese lied about COVID-19's origin as coming from a Wuhan wet market and not the Institute of Virology, he has reasons to be skeptical.
"The Chinese Communist Party is very sensitive to its global image. The idea that their experimentation led to the creation of a virus that has basically turned the world upside-down is something they'll never be able to admit. It could threaten their hold on power internally, but it would also, most certainly, change the world's perception of them. So I believe there is no limit to what they are willing to do to make sure the full story is never known," Rubio said in May regarding COVID's point of origin, a phrase that applies equally to this surge in illness occurring.
Additionally, the letter pointed out that the travel ban to and from China implemented under President Trump was criticized as "xenophobic" by officials, including President Biden, "But history and common sense show his decision was the right one," Sen. Rubio continued.
Hence, Rubio implored Biden to restrict travel between the United States and China and wait for more information. "A ban on travel now could save our country from death, lockdowns, mandates, and further outbreaks later," the letter concluded.
In August, a biomedical laboratory tied to China was found illegally operating in California. Representative Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) discussed the implications of its presence, saying, "What is it that they were doing, and why were they doing it there? And what kind of a threat does it pose to, again, the people of California and then the people of the United States? It is no secret that they tried to hide for a long time that the Wuhan lab was not the cause of COVID-19 when, in fact, in all probability, 99%, it was."
