International

Residents of a suburban New York City county that was one of the earliest US hot spots for the coronavirus sued the World Health Organization on Monday, accusing it of gross negligence in covering up and responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a proposed class action, three residents of Westchester county accused the WHO of failing to timely declare a pandemic, monitor China’s response to the original outbreak, provide treatment guidelines, advise members on how to respond including through travel restrictions, and coordinate a global response.

They also accused the WHO of conspiring with China’s government, which was not named as a defendant, to cover up Covid-19’s severity.

The WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit by Richard Kling and Steve Rotker, both of New Rochelle, and Gennaro Purchia, of Scarsdale, was filed in the federal court in White Plains, New York.