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China defends Covid-19 response after criticism by experts
BEIJING, Jan 19, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – China defended its handling
of the coronavirus pandemic 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 Organization over its
response — said 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”.
The panel, established by the WHO to independently study
global responses to the virus, said it was clear that “public
health measures could have been applied more forcefully by local
and national health authorities in China in January”.
But Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying on
Tuesday said Beijing had imposed early measures, including the
announcement of a hard lockdown on Wuhan weeks after the virus was
detected, that had “reduced infections and deaths.”
China largely brought the virus under control in the months
after it first surfaced, but the pandemic beyond its borders has
killed millions and wreaked economic havoc.
Hua on Tuesday said at a regular press briefing that while
“we should of course strive to do better,” that did not mean
China’s response had been inadequate.
“As the first country to sound the alarm against the
pandemic, we took prompt and decisive measures even though we had
incomplete information at the time,” Hua said.
The experts’ report criticised the WHO for dragging its feet
at the start of the crisis, pointing out that the UN health agency
did not convene its emergency committee until January 22, 2020.
China has made attempts to shift the pandemic narrative from
the early chaos in Wuhan to the country’s success in stopping the
virus’ spread.
Beijing has also cast doubts on whether Covid-19 originated
in Wuhan while silencing critics, including citizen journalist
Zhang Zhan who was jailed for four years for reporting on
conditions inside Wuhan at the height of the outbreak.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1653 hrs