WHO calls on China to share COVID-19 data

Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Leaders from the World Health Organization expressed concern over the recent COVID-19 outbreak in China, calling on the country to share its data and studies.

WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that the organization 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, and which we continue to request." Ghebreyesus said during a media briefing. "In order to make a comprehensive risk assessment of the situation on the ground, WHO needs more detailed information on disease severity, hospital admissions and requirements for ICU support."

China loosened its stringent COVID-19 controls for the first time in three years after widespread protests against the draconian policies broke out across the country and escalated into calls for greater freedom.

As part of a new 10-point guideline released by China's National Health Commission, large-scale lockdowns will be curtailed and people with mild or no symptoms will be allowed to isolate at home rather than being forced into government camps.

The country has also narrowed its definition of COVID-19 deaths to drastically cut its death numbers as cases increase.

The infectious disease expert Prof Wang Guiqiang told a State Council news conference on Tuesday that the National Health Commission had recently revised its guidelines to "scientifically and objectively reflect deaths caused by the coronavirus pandemic," classifying only fatalities caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure in patients who had the virus as COVID-19 deaths.

Projections have suggested the world's second-largest economy could face more than a million deaths in 2023 after the change in course.

The new wave has led experts to suggest that it may be too early to declare the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.