A federal judge in Missouri has found that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) covered up the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and hoarded protective equipment - costing the world precious time and lives. Now, Missouri officials are vowing to go after CCP assets.

Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Friday ordered China to pay a staggering $24 billion for their role in the disaster, a ruling that could pave the way for Missouri to seize Chinese-owned assets - including farmland, the NY Times reports.

The lawsuit, filed by the Missouri attorney general's office in April 2020, during the early months of the pandemic, accused the Chinese government of withholding information about the existence and spread of the virus and then of cutting off the supply of personal protective equipment, or P.P.E., from the rest of the world. Chinese officials said Friday that they did not accept the judge's decision.

Limbaugh wrote in his decision that "China was misleading the world about the dangers and scope of the Covid-19 pandemic," and had "engaged in monopolistic actions to hoard P.P.E.," which hampered early response to the pandemic.

The ruling in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri imposed the judgement against China, the ruling CCP, local governments in China, a Chinese health agency, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Limbaugh, a Bush W. Bush appointee, had initially dismissed Missouri's lawsuit, only to have it returned to him by an appellate court - after which he held a bench trial in January at the federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. China did not show up to the hearing.

According to Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, the ruling held China accountable for its actions.

"China refused to show up to court, but that doesn't mean they get away with causing untold suffering and economic devastation," said Bailey, adding: "We intend to collect every penny by seizing Chinese-owned assets, including Missouri farmland."