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UN/GENEVA, 31 December (PTI) World Health Organization again urges China to regularly share concrete and real-time data on the country’s COVID-19 situation as surge in coronavirus cases follows Beijing’s relaxation of strict ‘zero-COVID’ policy .
Global health agencies have asked Chinese health officials to share data on gene sequencing, hospitalizations, deaths and vaccinations.
Read also | The U.S. says Chinese fighter jets came dangerously close to U.S. aircraft over the South China Sea.
WHO and Chinese officials held a high-level meeting on the current surge in COVID-19 cases to seek more information on the situation and provide WHO expertise and further support, the WHO said in a statement on Friday.
“WHO reiterates its request for the regular sharing of specific and real-time data on the epidemiological situation – including additional genetic sequencing data, disease impact data including hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths – and data on vaccination and vaccination status, Especially the data for vulnerable populations and people over 60 years old,” it added.
WHO has reiterated the importance of vaccination and booster doses to prevent severe illness and death in high-risk groups.
Senior officials from China’s National Health Commission and the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention briefed the WHO on China’s evolving strategies and actions in areas such as epidemiology, mutation surveillance, vaccination, clinical care, communication and research and development, the statement said.
The WHO called on China to strengthen virus sequencing, clinical management and impact assessment, and expressed its willingness to provide support in these areas as well as in vaccination risk communication to eliminate hesitation.
“Chinese scientists are invited to participate more closely in WHO-led COVID-19 expert networks, including the COVID-19 Clinical Management Network,” the WHO statement said.
It said the WHO had invited Chinese scientists to present detailed data on the sequencing of the virus at a meeting of the Technical Advisory Group on the Evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus on January 3.
“WHO stresses the importance of surveillance and timely release of data to help China and the international community develop accurate risk assessments and inform effective responses,” it said.
The current surge of Omicron variants in China has infected millions of Chinese people, which has sounded the alarm to the world.
Chinese health officials discussed with WHO experts on Friday the country’s current surge in COVID-19 cases after the head of the organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, asked Beijing to share more information.
The World Health Organization tweeted on Thursday: “As I said in a recent press briefing – for a full risk assessment of the local COVID-19 situation in China, @WHO needs more detailed information.”
He also urged countries, including India, to take protective measures against people from China to prevent the spread of the virus.
“In the absence of comprehensive information from China, it is understandable that countries around the world are acting in ways they believe can protect their people,” he said.
India has joined the US, Japan, Italy and Taiwan in imposing mandatory COVID-19 testing for travelers from China amid a surge in COVID-19 after authorities relaxed strict “zero COVID” rules.
“We continue to call on China to share data and all hypotheses about this pandemic are on the table,” the WHO chief said, referring to the origin of the coronavirus first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.
His comments come as China criticizes countermeasures by countries including the United States, Japan and India, requiring travelers from China to undergo necessary testing.
Official COVID-19 data from China has become unreliable as fewer tests have been conducted across the country after the “zero COVID” policy was recently relaxed.
Beijing’s decision to lift all travel restrictions, including lifting a quarantine for incoming travelers from January 8, before the Lunar New Year, has sparked panic around the world.
During this period, millions of Chinese are expected to take holidays around the world.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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