A panel has ruled that China and the World Health Organization did not act quickly and forcefully enough when COVID-19 was first discovered in Wuhan more than a year ago.
China has been reporting over 100 cases each day for more than a week, the highest number since the initial outbreak in Wuhan in March, putting the country on high-alert ahead of Chinese New Year.
World
January 20, 2021
BEIJING: China defended its handling of the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday but said it would strive to do better after independent experts criticised the speed of its response to a virus that has now killed more than two million people worldwide.
Beijing has faced international criticism for an alleged lack of transparency after the virus emerged in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019 and for stifling whistleblowers who tried to raise the alarm.
The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response which also criticised the World Health Organisation over its response said on Monday that its evaluation of the start of the crisis in China suggests that there was potential for early signs to have been acted on more rapidly .
Administration of COVID-19 vaccine may lead to “catastrophic moral failure”, warns WHO
As few as 25 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in one of the world’s poorest countries, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said, warning of a “catastrophic moral failure”.
In some of his bleakest comments yet about the pandemic response, director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cast doubt over whether the WHO-backed COVAX facility, created to ensure equal access to COVID-19 vaccines, would get the doses it needs as high-income countries forge their own deals with vaccine makers.
The warning comes as cases of the virus continue to rise around the world, with 94 million confirmed cases and 2.03 million deaths recorded globally, according to the WHO. Speaking at the start of the organization’s week-long executive board meeting on Monday, Tedros said: “As the first vaccines begin to be deployed, the promise of equitable access is at serious risk.