US intelligence documents suggest U.S. officials believe China covered up the extent of the coronavirus outbreak to stock up on medical supplies needed to respond to it.

The four-page Department of Homeland Security report was dated May 1 and obtained by The Associated Press.
According to the report, Chinese leaders “intentionally concealed the severity” of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Intelligence officials found that China increased imports and decreased exports of medical supplies during the early days of the outbreak.
The report also says China held off informing the World Health Organization that the coronavirus “was a contagion” for much of January so the country could order medical supplies from abroad. Imports of face masks, surgical gowns, and gloves increased sharply.
The report’s conclusions are “based on the 95% probability that China’s changes in import and export behavior were not within normal range”.
The agency is still looking into the theory that the virus may have escaped from a Chinese lab.