Friday, the Chinese government responded angrily to Western efforts to restrict travel from China by asserting that all Covid-19 data it shared, including with the World Health Organization, was transparent.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had encouraged China to be “more transparent” regarding the pandemic and stated that it was “understandable” that some nations had imposed restrictions in response to China’s Covid outbreak.
This week, the United States joined other nations in mandating Covid tests on Chinese travelers, after Beijing lifted travel restrictions despite an increase in instances.
However, foreign ministry spokeswoman Wang Wenbin told a routine media conference on Friday, “Since the onset of the epidemic, China has shared pertinent information and data with the international community, including WHO, openly and transparently.”
“We initially provided the sequencing of the novel coronavirus, so making significant contributions to the development of related vaccinations and treatments in other nations.”
Last week, health experts from multiple nations stated that there was no need to put entry restrictions on Chinese travelers. The European Union’s health officials stated that such measures are not required at this time.
On Friday, a national disease control agency in China reported 5,500 new local cases and one death; however, with the cessation of mass testing and the tightening of criteria for what constitutes a Covid fatality, it is no longer thought that these statistics reflect reality.
National Health Commission (NHC) director of health Jiao Yahui told reporters on Thursday that China has always provided data “on Covid-19 deaths and severe cases in the spirit of openness and transparency.”
Jiao stated that China only records Covid-19 deaths among those who died of respiratory failure caused by the virus and who tested positive for the virus using a nucleic acid test. She stated that in other nations, all deaths within 28 days after positive tests are recorded.
Jiao stated that China has always adhered to the scientific criteria for determining Covid fatalities, which are in line with international standards.
The NHC said this week that it will no longer give an official daily death toll for Covid.
Airfinity, a company specializing in health risk assessments, anticipates 9,000 daily deaths and 1.8 million illnesses every day in China, as well as 1.7 million fatalities by the end of April 2023.
The British research group stated that their model was based on data from China’s regional regions before the implementation of modifications to infection reporting, along with case increase rates from other former zero-Covid countries after they loosened restrictions.
This Monday, China announced that it would abolish mandatory quarantine upon arrival. It also disclosed last month that it has abandoned a slew of stringent coronavirus containment procedures.
From January 8, the world’s most populous nation will treat Covid-19 as a Class B infection rather than the more severe Class A infection.
Xinhua stated that Liang Wannian, director of the NHC’s Covid response expert team, deemed the actions appropriate, scientific, and law-based.
