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Amber Wang

The World Health Organization has asked China for more details on its Covid cases, including breakdowns by province and plans to share coronavirus sequences.
WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the request during a phone call with Ma Xiaowei, director of China’s National Health Commission, on Saturday.
“[The] WHO has requested a more detailed breakdown of data by province over time,” the UN agency said in a statement.
“[The] WHO continues to ask that further sequences be shared with open access databases … for deeper phylogenetic analyses.”


The call came just after China said it recorded almost 60,000 Covid-related deaths between December 8 and January 12 – the first time Beijing has released a death toll since its abrupt pivot away from its zero-Covid policy last month.
In the call, Tedros said the UN agency appreciated the authorities’ public release of information on the overall situation, saying it allowed for a better understanding of the epidemiological situation and the impact of this wave in China.
He also noted efforts by Chinese authorities to scale up clinical care at all levels for its population.
The NHC said Beijing and the WHO had engaged in “technical communication” a few times since the end of zero-Covid, but did not give details of those exchanges.
It is the second time in a week that the WHO has asked for more data about the Covid-19 surge in China.
On Monday, Beijing authorities reported that the death toll remained at 5,272 and the number of confirmed cases was 118,147 – despite some provinces such as Zhejiang saying a million people were being infected per day in late December.
China’s reopening: the impact of Beijing’s U-turn on zero-Covid
Two days later, WHO executive director for health emergencies Mike Ryan accused Beijing of heavily under-reporting the number of deaths from Covid-19.
A number of countries including the United States and Japan have also expressed concerns about China’s lack of transparency in sharing information about the surge and set entry requirements for Chinese travellers.
Tedros said earlier this month that the travel restrictions were understandable “with circulation in China so high and comprehensive data not forthcoming”.
Noted scientist Rao Yi calls for revamp of China’s public health system
But Wang Huiyao, president of the Centre for China and Globalisation, a Beijing-based think tank, said China was being transparent and its data indicated the outbreak was “under control”.
He said the numbers would also help guide other countries to lift the restrictions on Chinese travellers.
“The [death] number in the past month or so is not small. However, it shows that in general, the situation in China is still controllable, and infections in the big cities have peaked,” Wang said.
“I believe that China’s move will win international recognition and respect.”


Other health experts said there were still questions about whether the death toll released by Beijing reflected the situation on the ground.
Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, was quoted by a Reuters report as saying doctors were discouraged from reporting Covid-related deaths and the numbers reported included only deaths in hospitals.
A report on the Chinese science website Zhishi Fenzi, or The Intellectual, also said some rural regions were under-reporting cases and it was unclear to what extent Covid-19 was the cause of death in these areas.


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Coronavirus China

Covid in China: WHO chief calls for more details on cases and sequences

The WHO has asked China for a more detailed breakdown of Covid data by province over time. Photo: Chinatopix via AP

Why has China’s zero-Covid U-turn sparked so much public resentment?

 Illustration: Henry Wong

Patients on stretchers crowd into Shanghai’s Tongren Hospital on January 3. Photo: AFP

This Beijing pharmacy had run out of medicine to treat colds on December 15. Photo: AFP

A woman wears a protective mask and face shield in a Shanghai shopping district on January 3. Photo: Reuters

WHO urges China to share more information on surging Covid-19 infections

The World Health Organization logo at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Photo: AP

Relatives gather near the bed of a patient in the emergency department at Langfang No 4 People’s Hospital in Bazhou, Hebei province, on December 22. Photo: AP

How political and economic pressure led to Beijing’s abrupt U-turn on zero-Covid

Illustration: Henry Wong

Closed mobile nucleic acid testing booths outside Shanghai Railway Station on December 8. Photo: Reuters

European Council President Charles Michel and President Xi Jinping in Beijing on December 1. Photo: Dario Pignatelli/European Council/dpa

Workers dismantle a temporary shelter on December 1 outside a Beijing neighbourhood under lockdown. Photo: Bloomberg

Were China’s 3 years of strict Covid controls a wasted opportunity?

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Low vaccination rates among the over-80s are a particular concern. Photo: Reuters

How Omicron variant of coronavirus led to bursting of China’s zero-Covid dykes

Foxconn workers confront security personnel wearing hazmat suits in Zhengzhou in November. Photo: Weibo

A worker in protective gear guards the entrance to a locked down neighbourhood in Shanghai in March last year. Photo: AFP

People hold up sheets of blank paper to criticise censorship as they march in Beijing on November 27 during a protest against the country’s strict zero-Covid measures. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

News

China

Diplomacy

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says information releases are giving a better picture of overall situation but further data needed for analysis
Call comes as China releases its first death toll numbers since pivot away from zero-Covid


Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says information releases are giving a better picture of overall situation but further data needed for analysis.


World Health Organization (WHO)

Coronavirus pandemic

Covid in China: WHO chief calls for more details on cases and sequences

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says information releases are giving a better picture of overall situation but further data needed for analysis Call comes as China releases its first death toll numbers since pivot away from zero-Covid

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says information releases are giving a better picture of overall situation but further data needed for analysis

Call comes as China releases its first death toll numbers since pivot away from zero-Covid