China responds to the WHO. Beijing said on Friday that its statistics on the progression of covid have always been transparent, despite very low announced numbers of cases and deaths amid a resurgence of the disease in its territory.
“Since the outbreak of the epidemic, China has been sharing reliable information and data with the international community, including the WHO, in an open and transparent manner,” said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin.
“We shared the sequence of the new coronavirus from the beginning and made an important contribution to the development of reliable vaccines and medicines in other countries,” he added to the press.
China designated by WHO
These statements follow those of the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who had called on Beijing to transmit “more detailed information”, and considered the protection measures announced by other countries towards the travelers from China.
The latter is going through a wave of contamination of an unprecedented scale since the abrupt abandonment, at the beginning of the month, of its so-called “zero covid” policy. However, the country announced the end of mandatory quarantines upon arrival in the territory from January 8 and the gradual resumption of foreign travel for Chinese people. Several countries, including the United States, are concerned about it.
Only one death announced on Friday
On Friday, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced just 5,515 new cases and one death. Figures that no longer seem to reflect reality, generalized projections are no longer mandatory.
“China has always published its data on deaths and serious cases of Covid-19 in a desire for openness and transparency,” said a senior health official, Jiao Yahui, quoted by the new Chinese agency on Thursday.
In China, only patients who died of respiratory failure caused by the virus and tested positive are considered victims of Covid-19. An official of China’s anti-Covid policy, Liang Wannian, considered the decision scientifically appropriate on Thursday, according to New China. Other countries count patients who died within 28 days of a positive test.
Source: BFM TV
