Share Covid data, World Health Organization tells China

The World Health Organization has urged China to share data on the origins of the Covid pandemic, five years after it began in the city of Wuhan.

“This is a moral and scientific imperative,” the WHO said in a statement marking what it called the “milestone” anniversary.

“Without transparency, exchange and cooperation between countries, the world cannot adequately prevent or prepare for future epidemics and pandemics,” he added.

Many scientists believe the virus was transferred naturally from animals to humans, but some suspicions remain that it escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan.

In its statement, the WHO went back to the early days of Covid and charted its evolution from a local phenomenon to a global scourge, leading to lockdowns around the world and ultimately a successful race to develop vaccines.

“Five years ago, on December 31, 2019, the WHO China office collected from its website a press statement from the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission regarding ‘viral pneumonia’ cases in Wuhan, China,” he said. the organization.

“In the weeks, months and years that followed, Covid-19 shaped our lives and our world,” he continued.

The WHO said it “got to work immediately” as 2020 dawned. It recalled how its employees activated emergency systems on January 1 and informed the world three days later.

“On January 9-12, WHO had published its first set of comprehensive guidance for countries, and on January 13 we brought together our partners to publish the blueprint for the first laboratory test for Sars-CoV-2,” he added. .

The WHO said it wanted to “honor the lives changed and lost, recognize those suffering from Covid-19 and long Covid, express gratitude to the health workers who sacrificed so much to care for us, and commit to learning from Covid-19.” to build a healthier tomorrow.

In May 2023, the WHO stated that Covid-19 no longer represented a “global health emergency”.

Its director general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said at the time that at least seven million people had died in the pandemic.

But he added that the real figure was “likely” closer to 20 million deaths, almost three times the official estimate.

Since then, the WHO has repeatedly warned against complacency over the possible emergence of future Covid-like diseases.

Dr Ghebreyesus has said the next pandemic “could arrive at any time” and urged the world to be prepared.