In light of an increase in coronavirus infections after Beijing loosened its rigorous “zero-Covid” policy, the World Health Organization has once again encouraged China to periodically provide detailed and up-to-date statistics on the situation with Covid-19 in the nation.
Chinese health officials have been asked to disclose information on genetic sequencing, hospitalisations, fatalities, and immunisations by the global health organisation.
In order to gather more information about the issue and to offer WHO’s expertise and additional help, officials from WHO and China met at a high level to discuss the recent spike in Covid-19 cases, according to a WHO statement on Friday.
It continued, “WHO again requested regular sharing of specific and real-time data on the epidemiological situation, including more genetic sequencing data, data on disease impact, including hospitalisations, ICU admissions, and deaths, as well as data on vaccinations delivered and vaccination status, especially in vulnerable people and those over 60 years old.
WHO emphasised the need of immunisation and booster shots to safeguard against serious illness and death for those at higher risk.
The National Health Commission of China and the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration, according to the statement, briefed WHO on China’s expanding policy and efforts in the fields of epidemiology, variant monitoring, immunisation, clinical treatment, communication, and R&D.
The WHO urged China to improve viral sequencing, clinical management, and impact assessment and indicated its willingness to support China in these areas as well as in risk messages for vaccination to allay hesitation.
According to a statement from the WHO, “Chinese scientists are asked to engage more closely in WHO-led Covid-19 expert networks, particularly the Covid-19 clinical management network.”
According to the report, on January 3, the Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution will meet, and Chinese researchers have been invited to submit specific information on viral sequencing.
According to the statement, “WHO emphasised the necessity of monitoring and the prompt dissemination of data to allow China and the international community create accurate risk assessments and to inform effective actions.”
The recent outbreak of Omicron variants in China has infected millions of people, alarming the entire world.
After Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the WHO, requested Beijing share additional information, China’s health officials on Friday spoke with the organization’s specialists about the recent spike in Covid-19 cases in the nation.
On Thursday, the WHO tweeted: “As I indicated at our most recent news conference — @WHO requires more precise information to do a full risk assessment of the Covid-19 situation on the ground in China.” He advocated for several nations, including India, to adopt precautions against travellers coming from China in order to stop the virus from spreading.
“It is understandable that governments across the world are acting in ways they believe may protect their populations in the absence of complete information from China,” he said.
In response to a COVID-19 increase in China after authorities eased tight “zero-Covid” standards, India has joined the US, Japan, Italy, and Taiwan in requiring mandatory COVID tests for travellers from China.
The WHO director stated, alluding to the origin of the coronavirus, which was originally identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, that “we continue to call on China to share data and all hypotheses regarding this pandemic remain on the table.”
His comments were made in response to China’s criticism of the steps adopted by several nations, including the US, Japan, and India, requiring travellers from China to submit to the necessary testing.
Since China’s “zero-Covid” policy was recently relaxed, less testing has been conducted nationwide, making official Covid-19 data from that country questionable.
In advance of the Chinese New Year, Beijing decided to remove all travel restrictions, including the requirement for inbound travellers to undergo quarantine, effective January 8. This decision has alarmed people all over the world.
During this time, it’s projected that millions of Chinese people will take vacations all over the world.
