BEIJING/SHANGHAI: China defended its handling of the raging COVID-19 outbreak on Thursday after US President Joe Biden raised concerns and the WHO said Beijing was under-reporting virus deaths. WHO emergency director, mike ryansaid on Wednesday that Chinese officials were under-representing the data on several fronts, some of the most critical comments ever from the UN agency.
China ended its strictness covid control last month following protests against them. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman mao ning Beijing said at a regular media briefing that China transparently and quickly shared Covid data with the WHO and that China’s “epidemic situation is controllable”. “Facts have proved that China has always maintained close communication and shared relevant information and data with WHO in a timely manner, in accordance with the principles of legality, timeliness, openness and transparency,” mao Told.
China reported one new COVID death on the mainland on Wednesday, compared with five a day earlier, bringing its official death toll to 5,259. Ryan said China’s numbers underrepresented hospital admissions, intensive care unit patients and deaths, adding that Beijing’s definition of Covid-related deaths was too narrow. Hours later, Biden raised concerns about China’s handling of the Covid outbreak that is filling hospitals and overwhelming some funeral homes. “They are very sensitive . . . when we suggest they are not moving,” Biden told reporters. France’s health minister expressed similar fears, while German health minister Karl Lauterbach Expressed concern about a new COVID subvariant linked to increasing US hospitalizations. The US is one of more than a dozen countries that have imposed restrictions on travelers from China. Germany announced stricter rules on Thursday.
China, which has criticized such border controls, said its border with its special administrative region of Hong Kong would reopen on Sunday. The Hong Kong government announced late on Thursday that ferry services between the city and the gambling hub of Macau would also resume on the same day. Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways said on Thursday it would more than double flights to mainland China. Millions of people will travel within China for the Lunar New Year holiday later this month, an event the WHO has said could lead to another wave of infections.
China ended its strictness covid control last month following protests against them. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman mao ning Beijing said at a regular media briefing that China transparently and quickly shared Covid data with the WHO and that China’s “epidemic situation is controllable”. “Facts have proved that China has always maintained close communication and shared relevant information and data with WHO in a timely manner, in accordance with the principles of legality, timeliness, openness and transparency,” mao Told.
China reported one new COVID death on the mainland on Wednesday, compared with five a day earlier, bringing its official death toll to 5,259. Ryan said China’s numbers underrepresented hospital admissions, intensive care unit patients and deaths, adding that Beijing’s definition of Covid-related deaths was too narrow. Hours later, Biden raised concerns about China’s handling of the Covid outbreak that is filling hospitals and overwhelming some funeral homes. “They are very sensitive . . . when we suggest they are not moving,” Biden told reporters. France’s health minister expressed similar fears, while German health minister Karl Lauterbach Expressed concern about a new COVID subvariant linked to increasing US hospitalizations. The US is one of more than a dozen countries that have imposed restrictions on travelers from China. Germany announced stricter rules on Thursday.
China, which has criticized such border controls, said its border with its special administrative region of Hong Kong would reopen on Sunday. The Hong Kong government announced late on Thursday that ferry services between the city and the gambling hub of Macau would also resume on the same day. Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways said on Thursday it would more than double flights to mainland China. Millions of people will travel within China for the Lunar New Year holiday later this month, an event the WHO has said could lead to another wave of infections.