China's COVID Situation: WHO Urges Real-time COVID Data Amidst Surging Cases

The World Health Organization has stated to China's National Health Commission amidst the ongoing COVID surge.

Following Beijing's dismantling of its zero-Covid policies, including an end to mass testing and mandatory quarantine, the National Health Commission has ceased reporting the numbers of daily Covid-19 infections and fatalities, claiming they failed to accurately reflect the full picture of the rise in infections across the nation. The nation also has a strict definition of what constitutes a Covid-19 death that disqualifies anyone with a history of illness.

In the face of widespread concerns about a lack of openness over the rapidly increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the nation, the World Health Organization has asked China to publish precise and timely information on its coronavirus status in a recent meeting.

WHO's Statement on China's COVID Surge

During a Friday online meeting with representatives from China's National Health Commission and National Disease Control and Prevention Administration, South China Morning Post reports that WHO requested that the Chinese officials regularly share "specific and real-time data on the epidemiological situation," including "more genetic sequencing data" and information 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." according to the statement.

Furthermore, the WHO's technical advisory group on the development of Covid-19 is scheduled to meet on January 2, 2023. According to the agency, Chinese experts have been invited to give comprehensive data on viral sequencing. They stated that considering the situation, it is "understandable" that some nations are putting new travel restrictions on citizens leaving China.

Travel Restrictions Amidst China's COVID Situation

According to BBC, many nations, including the United States, Japan, India, Italy, Spain, France, England, and South Korea, announced that they would demand travelers from China to show proof of a negative Covid-19 test, with some urging Beijing to increase transparency.

According to the US State Department, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken "underscored the importance of transparency for the international community" during a meeting with Wang Yi, the country's foreign minister at the time, on Dec. 22 to discuss the Covid-19 problem.

Several of China's restrictions were quickly lifted in the wake of protests in November against the government's response to the pandemic. During that time, China had one of the harshest anti-Covid measures in the whole world, despite having a zero-Covid policy up until that time, according to The Guardian.

There were strict lockdowns even if only a few instances had been discovered, widespread testing in areas where cases had been recorded, and Covid patients were required to be isolated at home or in government facilities under quarantine.

As of now, lockdowns and quarantine regulations are no longer in effect. People can now once more travel internationally. Since then, the number of cases has increased, with the Chinese authorities reporting roughly 5,000 cases every day. Analysts claim that these figures are significantly understated and that the actual daily caseload may be closer to one million.