Eric Schmitt, Missouri attorney general, speaks during a news conference outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., Sept. 9, 2019. Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

The state of Missouri has sued the People's Republic of China for creating a public nuisance claiming the actions of its officials caused the global coronavirus pandemic.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, Attorney General Eric Schmitt said Chinese governmental authorities covered up knowledge of COVID-19 as early as December, including in reports to the World Health Organization, then hoarded personal protective equipment. The state of Missouri, where 5,800 people have confirmed cases of coronavirus and 177 have died from complications from an infection, seeks billions of dollars.

"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," said Schmitt in a statement Tuesday.

The suit, filed in federal court in the Eastern District of Missouri, is the latest case brought against the Chinese government over COVID-19. Last month, Matthew Moore, an attorney at the Berman Law Firm in Boca Raton, Florida, brought the first case as a class action. Robert Eglet, of Eglet Adams in Las Vegas, filed another class action soon afterward.

Missouri is the first state to sue China over COVID-19, which has caused about 40,000 deaths in the United States to date, and where roughly 750,000 people have contracted the coronavirus. The suit also names The Communist Party of China, other Chinese health and emergency departments, the People's Government of Hubei Province, and the People's Government of Wuhan City, where the first outbreak of coronavirus occurred.

Missouri seeks an abatement plan to fix the "enormous economic disruptions" caused by the coronavirus. Although the lawsuit names the Wuhan Institute of Virology and its administrator, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the allegations briefly touch on the idea that a scientific research laboratory unleashed the coronavirus. Instead, the claims primarily focus on the actions of government officials, including allegations about censorship, false statements and the arrest of eight whistleblowers who warned about the spread of the coronavirus. Those included a doctor who attempted to share information about the disease on WeChat, and another in Wuhan disciplined for telling staff to wear masks. As recently as April 17, China revised its official COVID-19 death toll in Wuhan by more than 1,000.

The suit also references articles in The New York Times about the Chinese government's decision to allow nearly 175,000 individuals in Wuhan to travel Jan. 1 for Lunar New Year.

"An appalling campaign of deceit, concealment, misfeasance and inaction by Chinese authorities unleashed this pandemic," the suit 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—thus causing a global pandemic that was unnecessary and preventable. Defendants are responsible for the enormous death, suffering and economic losses they inflicted on the world, including Missourians, and they should be held accountable."

In addition to public nuisance, for which the suit seeks civil damages, restitution, compensatory and punitive damages, the complaint cites Missouri tort law, which permits strict liability for "abnormally dangerous activities," as well as breaches of duty.