On Friday, a World Health Organization delegation met with Chinese officials to discuss the spike in their country’s COVID-19 cases, urging Beijing to share real-time data.
“On December 30, a high-level meeting was held between the World Health Organization and China on the current increase in the number of cases of COVID-19, in order to obtain additional information on the situation and offer experience and support from WHO,” the message says. the agency said in a statement.
The statement reads that “the World Health Organization has again requested the regular exchange of specific data on the epidemiological situation in real time, including additional data on genetic sequencing, the impact of the disease, cases requiring hospitalization and intensive care units, and how to death.”
According to the statement, the organization also requested access to data on ongoing vaccinations, especially for the most vulnerable people over 60 years of age.
An international organization headquartered in Geneva affirmed “the importance of vaccination and revaccination for the protection of people exposed to the most dangerous forms of this disease.”
The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called on China to be more transparent about the epidemic situation in the country.
His comments come after the United States joined several countries in imposing Covid tests on travelers from China after Beijing lifted travel restrictions abroad.
“In order to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment of the COVID-19 situation on the ground in China, WHO needs more information,” Tedros tweeted.
“In the absence of comprehensive information from China, it is clear that countries around the world are acting in ways that they believe can protect their people,” he added.
My team met #China representatives virtually to discuss the current surge #COVID-19 cases. @WHO reiterated the importance of transparency and regular data sharing to formulate accurate risk assessments and inform effective responses. https://t.co/FmELvtApbT
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 30, 2022
Source: AFP.