'Very concerned': WHO on China's Covid surge

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, December 22

The WHO on Thursday said it was “very concerned” at the Covid situation in China and continued to call on the country to share the data and conduct studies that the world body had earlier requested it to.

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We are supporting China to focus its efforts on vaccinating people at the highest risk. WHO

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said all theories with respect to the origin of Covid remained on the table and that gaps in global understanding of how the pandemic began compromised the world’s collective ability to prevent future pandemics.

“The WHO is very concerned over the evolving situation in China, with increasing reports of severe disease. We continue to call on China to share the data and conduct the studies we have requested… As I have said many times before, all hypotheses about the origins of this pandemic remain on the table,” Ghebreyesus said.

The WHO chief also said the global body was supporting China to focus its efforts on vaccinating people at the highest risk across the country, and continued to offer support for clinical care and protecting its health system. He, however, stressed that for a comprehensive risk assessment of the situation on the ground, the WHO needed more detailed information on disease severity, hospital admissions and requirements for ICU support.