WHO says data provided by China ‘under-represents’ true impact of Covid outbreak

The World Health Organisation (WHO) criticised China for the “very narrow” definition of COVID-19 deaths and said that the government has not revealed the true impact of the new infections. "We believe that the current numbers being published from China under-represent the true impact of the disease in terms of hospital admissions, in terms of ICU admissions, and particularly in terms of deaths," the WHO's emergencies director Michael Ryan told reporters.

Earlier, WHO officials met with a team of Chinese scientists on Tuesday in order to verify the accuracy of China’s COVID-19 data and the latest growth in infections, said an AFP report. The Communist Party of China’s mouthpiece newspaper claimed on Wednesday that the country is pushing for a “final victory” over the pandemic but the numbers are telling a completely different story.

The number of Covid cases skyrocketed after relaxation of restrictions in China and in the past few weeks, the hospitals in various parts of the country have been full with patients of all ages.

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The United Nations has already asked the scientists in China to submit independent data in order to get a clear picture of the situation in China. According to Reuters, the WHO has not received any data from China regarding the COVID-19 cases since the shift in policy by the Chinese government.

Chinese President Xi Jinping implemented the strict Zero Covid policy in an attempt to control the infection but in the face of nationwide protests, the government decided to relax some restrictions.

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According to local media reports, China had just five deaths related to Covid and around 5258 infections. That is a number which is lesser than the average toll seen in the last six months.

The strict restrictions also had a massive impact on the Chinese economy which is currently valued at $17 trillion. However, with the economy opening up, the Chinese yuan is currently going at a four-month high against the United States Dollar as the manufacturing units also resumed operations.

(With inputs from agencies)