WHO calls for more Covid data from China

By i24
Posted on 01/14/23 | News Source: i24

China is widely accused of underreporting the number of coronavirus fatalities since the abandonment of its zero-Covid policy

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday called on China to provide more data on its Covid situation, hours after Beijing reported almost 60,000 Covid-related deaths there in just over a month.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the request in a conversation with Ma Xiaowei, director of China's National Health Commission, said a statement from the organization. "Dr Tedros also reiterated the importance of China's deeper cooperation and transparency," said the statement.

China is widely accused of underreporting the number of coronavirus fatalities since the abandonment of its zero-Covid policy. WHO and other governments appealed for information after reports by city and provincial governments suggest as many as hundreds of millions of people in China might have contracted the virus.

Only a few dozen deaths were recorded officially in December before Saturday's announcement, despite evidence of crematoriums and hospitals being overrun. But a National Health Commission (NHC) official said Saturday that China recorded 59,938 Covid-related deaths between December 8 and January 12.