In this Jan 24, 2021 photo, staff members spray disinfectant at a residential community to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Yuhua District, Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei province. (ZHU XUDONG / XINHUA)
SINGAPORE – Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the Pacific region is a lot more respectful of what China did in handling COVID-19 than the Americans, a Chinese-language newspaper in the city state reported on Monday.
According to the Lianhe Zaobao report, Lee made the statement during a dialogue with the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board earlier this month.
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The United States blames the spread of the virus mostly on China, saying that right at the beginning it did not promptly detect, declare and wipe out COVID-19, the Singaporean PM said.
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Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (BLOOMBERG)
"But within a month they did bring it out in the open and countries scrambled to react," he said. "Some responded quickly, while others like the United States regret not reacting faster," he added.