BEIJING,Jan 4,2022: No new coronavirus variant has been found in China, data released by the World Health Organization showed on Wednesday, easing some concerns about an outbreak that has spread rapidly there since Beijing abruptly reversed its “zero COVID” policy.
The U.N. agency was releasing data provided by the Chinese Center For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a day after WHO officials met Chinese scientists amid global unease about the accuracy of China’s reporting of an outbreak that has filled hospitals and overwhelmed some funeral homes.
China’s People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s official newspaper, sought to rally worried citizens for what it calls a “final victory” over COVID-19, rebutting criticism of its policy of strict isolation that triggered rare protests last year.
Meanwhile, health officials abroad have been struggling to work out the scale of the outbreak and how to stop it spreading, with more countries introducing measures such pre-departure COVID tests for arrivals from China, moves that Beijing has criticised.
European Union health officials meet on Wednesday to discuss a coordinated response to it.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a briefing the U.N. agency was continuing to seek more rapid and regular data from China on hospitalisations and deaths, adding that he was concerned for the lives of China’s citizens.
