China defends COVID-19 transparency amid WHO calls for data sharing

China reaffirmed its commitment to "scientific transparency" on Tuesday, pushing back against the World Health Organization's (WHO) request for more data sharing regarding the origins of COVID-19.

“In terms of the traceability of the COVID-19, China has always adhered to the spirit of scientific openness and transparency, and has actively supported and participated in global scientific traceability,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The statement from Beijing came after the WHO urged China on Monday to share data and access so that the world health body “can understand the origins of COVID-19.”

The COVID-19, or coronavirus, pandemic hit the world at the end of 2019, triggering national lockdowns as the virus spread globally resulting in at least 7.1 million deaths, according to the WHO.

“This is a moral and scientific imperative,” said the world body about data sharing. “Without transparency, sharing and cooperation among countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics,” it said on Monday.

The call from the WHO came as Australia this month recorded a new wave of COVID-19 cases across Queensland, with a daily average of 258 patients of coronavirus recorded in public hospitals between Dec. 9 and 15.

The first cases of COVID-19 were reported in Wuhan city of China’s central Hubei province in December 2019.

Wuhan's health authority had released its first statement on "viral pneumonia" on Dec. 31 of that year.

However, spokeswoman Mao said China “firmly opposes any form of political manipulation.”

“After the COVID-19 outbreak, China promptly shared information about the epidemic and the virus’s genetic sequence with the WHO and the international community,” she said, adding Beijing also shared its experience in prevention, control, diagnosis, and treatment with others.

News.Az