In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping visits the Chuanshan port area of the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in east China’s Zhejiang Province, Sunday, March 29, 2020. Authorities in China are working to restart its industries as number of new coronavirus cases and deaths fall in the country. (Ju Peng/Xinhua via AP)

Expect to see a lot more of this coming.

Missouri sued China today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the first state off the block — likely to be joined by many governments around the world.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said China’s cover-up suppressed the truth and grievously harmed the state.

From KMOV:

The lawsuit, filed this morning in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri says, “During the critical weeks of the initial outbreak, Chinese authorities deceived the public, suppressed crucial information, arrested whistleblowers, denied human-to-human transmission in the face of mounting evidence, destroyed critical medical research, permitted millions of people to be exposed to the virus, and even hoarded personal protective equipment (“PPE”)—thus causing a global pandemic that was unnecessary and preventable.”

According to the lawsuit, by late December, Chinese health officials had serious evidence of human-to-human transmission. Despite the evidence of transmission, Chinese health officials did not report the outbreak to the World Health Organization until December 31. When Chinese authorities did inform the WHO of the outbreak, they denied the potential for human-to-human transmission.

The complaint also alleged even after it spread around the world, China continued to lie and cover-up information about the virus.

Schmitt said it had done “irreparable damage” to the state with thousands being infected and 177 deaths as of Tuesday, and many more being separated or thrown out of work.

“The Chinese government lied to the world about the danger and contagious nature of COVID-19, silenced whistleblowers, and did little to stop the spread of the disease. They must be held accountable for their actions.”

The suit is seeking compensation for damages, including for the expenses for treatment and all the lost economic activity.

According to the Free Beacon, Republicans including Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) have proposed a bill in Congress to allow Americans to sue China in federal court over the virus, which is presently disallowed under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

Good going, Missouri. May this action be taken up by many and spread, almost like a virus. They need to be held accountable for this.