WHO says China data underrepresents COVID surge and deaths
GENEVA, Jan 4 (Reuters) – China’s COVID-19 data is not giving an accurate picture of the situation there and underrepresents the number of hospitalisations and deaths from the disease, a senior official at the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.
The comment came as the UN agency prepares to meet Chinese scientists again on Thursday as part of a wider briefing among member states on the global COVID-19 situation.
“We believe that the current numbers being published from China underrepresent the true impact of the disease in terms of hospital admissions, in terms of ICU admissions, particularly in terms of death,” Mike Ryan, WHO’s emergencies director, told reporters.
He said the WHO believes the Chinese government’s definition for death is “too narrow”.
“We still do not have complete data,” said Ryan.
Late last month, the world’s most populous country narrowed its definition for classifying deaths as COVID-related, counting only those involving COVID-caused pneumonia or respiratory failure, raising eyebrows among world health experts.
The country has reported five or fewer deaths a day since the policy U-turn, but many Chinese funeral homes and hospitals say they are overwhelmed, and international health experts predict at least 1 million COVID-related deaths in China this year without urgent action.
Earlier in the briefing, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated that the agency is “concerned” about the surge in COVID-19 infections in China and urged Beijing again to deliver rapid and regular data on hospitalisation and death there as well as real-time viral sequencing.
“WHO is concerned about the risk to life in China and has reiterated the importance of vaccination, including booster doses to protect against hospitalization, severe disease and death.”
With circulation in China so high and comprehensive data not forthcoming, he said it’s understandable that some countries are taking steps like testing travellers arriving from the country to protect their own citizens.
Reporting Jennifer Rigby in London, Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber in Geneva and Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Writing by Josephine Mason; Editing by Alex Richardson, Philippa Fletcher and Nick Macfie
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