WHO urges China to share more information on surging Covid-19 infections
- Officials asked to share ‘specific and real-time data on the epidemiological situation’
- Health commission has stopped reporting daily Covid-19 infections and fatalities
At an online meeting with officials from China’s National Health Commission and National Disease Control and Prevention Administration on Friday, it asked the Chinese officials to regularly share “specific and real-time data on the epidemiological situation”, including “more genetic sequencing data” and data on hospital admissions, deaths and vaccinations.
“WHO stressed the importance of monitoring and the timely publication of data to help China and the global community to formulate accurate risk assessments and to inform effective responses,” it said in a statement issued on Friday.
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South Korea to require Covid-19 tests for travellers from China, joining US and Japan
It also invited Chinese scientists “to present detailed data on viral sequencing” at a meeting of a technical advisory group on January 3.
The country also has a narrow definition of what counts as a Covid-19 death that excludes anyone with pre-existing conditions.
A number of countries – including the United States, Japan, India, Italy, Spain, France, England and South Korea– said they would require travellers from China to present evidence of a negative test for Covid-19, with some calling on Beijing to enhance transparency.
