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WHO Calls Out China's Lack of Transparency Over COVID Infections
The World Health Organization (WHO) is leading calls for China to share more pandemic data as the world's most populous country responds to its nationwide COVID-19 outbreak by scaling back the publication of official statistics.
On December 29, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus defended the right of the United States and other nations to impose restrictions on travel from China. Around 10 countries, including many of China's neighbors, now require negative PCR tests from passengers departing Chinese airports.
"In the absence of comprehensive information from China, it is understandable that countries around the world are acting in ways that they believe may protect their populations," he tweeted.
The caution, which Beijing argues is unscientific, is related to a general lack of information about the true extent of China's surge in infections after its government dismantled three years of strict virus controls—lockdowns, mass testing and layers of contact tracing—in the span of a single month.
On January 8, China will officially downgrade COVID from a Class A to a Class B infectious disease, paving the way for an end to all quarantine measures nationwide. That's before most epidemiological models expect the country's first wave to peak, while the government has already stopped releasing accurate infection and fatality numbers.
Experts also question whether Beijing still has the capacity to track the spread of the virus within its borders. Individuals who return positive results on at-home rapid antigen tests aren't required to report their infection to authorities.
On Friday, the WHO convened virtually with Chinese health officials "to seek further information on the situation, and to offer WHO's expertise and further support," according to a statement.
https://www.newsweek.com/china-who-tedros-covid-19-infections-deaths-data-transparency-1770696