COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, was first detected in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It rapidly spread worldwide, prompting the World Health Organisation to declare a pandemic in March 2020.

The virus led to a wide range of symptoms, from mild respiratory problems to severe pneumonia, severely impacting daily life, healthcare systems, and economies across the globe. With millions of lives lost, the pandemic brought profound changes to society. Recently, the issue resurfaced after a ruling by a US judge. A US judge has made a landmark ruling, holding China accountable for handling the COVID-19 pandemic. Judge Stephen N Limbaugh of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri found China guilty of concealing the pandemic's severity and engaging in monopolistic practices to hoard personal protective equipment (PPE). This led to a devastating global shortage of essential medical supplies. As a result, Judge Limbaugh ordered China to pay a staggering $24 billion in compensation. This ruling comes as the world continues to grapple with the pandemic's aftermath, which has claimed over 7 million lives worldwide since its emergence in 2019.

In 2020, the state of Missouri filed a lawsuit against the Chinese government, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and others. According to The New York Post, the lawsuit alleged that China “caused and exacerbated the Covid-19 pandemic by thwarting the production, purchasing, and import and export of PPE." It also accused Beijing of "nationalising American factories producing PPE and hoarding protective equipment manufactured or available for sale in the US."

On Friday, Judge Limbaugh delivered his ruling, "China’s campaign to hoard the global supply of PPE was performed in conjunction with its repeated misrepresentations on the existence, and then scope and human-to-human transmissibility of, the Covid-19 virus. Plaintiff has submitted into the record substantial evidence demonstrating as much."

Judge Limbaugh emphasised that "China had violated state and federal anti-monopoly laws," which resulted in Missouri experiencing "significant harm in the form of lost net general tax revenue" and "heightened PPE expenditures." He pointed out, "During the early months of the pandemic, Missouri spent millions more on PPE than it otherwise would have because of defendants’ hoarding." Reports indicate that Missouri incurred over $122 million in additional PPE costs and suffered a tax revenue loss exceeding $8 billion.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey welcomed the ruling, calling it a "landmark ruling in the fight to hold China accountable for unleashing the Covid-19 on the world." Bailey criticised China and said, "China refused to show up to court, but that doesn’t mean they get away with causing untold suffering and economic devastation. We intend to collect every penny by seizing Chinese-owned assets, including Missouri farmland." On Saturday, the Missouri Attorney General posted on Twitter, "Hey China, You owe Missouri $24 billion."

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington stated that the Beijing government "does not and will not accept" the ruling. In an official statement, the spokesperson said, "does not and will not accept" the verdict. "The so-called lawsuit has no basis in fact, law or international precedence. China does not and will not accept it. If China’s interests are harmed, we will firmly take reciprocal countermeasures according to international law."

Nearly six years after the first cases of the novel coronavirus emerged in China in December 2019, a judgment has been issued. As the virus spread rapidly worldwide, the World Health Organisation declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in January 2020. It officially classified it as a pandemic two months later. By February 2025, COVID-19 had caused 7,087,718 confirmed deaths globally, making it the fifth deadliest pandemic or epidemic in history, according to India Today.