{"id":2836,"date":"2023-01-05T12:34:01","date_gmt":"2023-01-05T12:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=2836"},"modified":"2023-03-23T18:39:38","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:39:38","slug":"china-defends-post-who-covid-response-biden-concerned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/magazine\/health-and-lifestyle\/china-defends-post-who-covid-response-biden-concerned\/2023\/01\/05\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"China defends post-WHO COVID response, Biden concerned"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u00a0BEIJING\/SHANGHAI<\/span> (Reuters)<\/span> Jan,5–<\/span> After<\/span> U.S.<\/span> President<\/span> Joe<\/span> Biden<\/span> voiced<\/span> concern<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> World<\/span> Health<\/span> Organization<\/span> (WHO)<\/span> said<\/span> Beijing<\/span> was<\/span> underreporting<\/span> the<\/span> number<\/span> of<\/span> deaths<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> virus,<\/span> China<\/span> said<\/span> it<\/span> would<\/span> On<\/span> Thursday,<\/span> he<\/span> defended<\/span> his<\/span> response<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> raging<\/span> COVID-19<\/span> outbreak.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n

\n<\/span>WHO<\/span> Emergencies<\/span> Director<\/span> Mike<\/span> Ryan<\/span> said<\/span> Wednesday<\/span> that<\/span> Chinese<\/span> officials<\/span> have<\/span> underestimated<\/span> the<\/span> data<\/span> on<\/span> several<\/span> fronts,<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> most<\/span> critical<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> UN<\/span> health<\/span> agency’s<\/span> remarks.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>China<\/span> scrapped<\/span> strict<\/span> COVID<\/span> controls<\/span> last<\/span> month<\/span> after<\/span> protests<\/span> against<\/span> them,<\/span> abandoning<\/span> policies<\/span> that<\/span> have<\/span> protected<\/span> 1.4<\/span> billion<\/span> people<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> virus<\/span> for<\/span> three<\/span> years.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> is<\/span> one<\/span> of<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> a<\/span> dozen<\/span> countries<\/span> imposing<\/span> restrictions<\/span> on<\/span> travelers<\/span> from<\/span> China,<\/span> and<\/span> Lauterbach<\/span> also<\/span> announced<\/span> stricter<\/span> rules<\/span> for<\/span> entering<\/span> Germany<\/span> on<\/span> Thursday.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>China<\/span> has<\/span> criticized<\/span> such<\/span> border<\/span> controls<\/span> as<\/span> inappropriate<\/span> and<\/span> unscientific,<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> government<\/span> announced<\/span> on<\/span> Thursday<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> border<\/span> with<\/span> Hong<\/span> Kong<\/span> Special<\/span> Administrative<\/span> Region<\/span> would<\/span> be<\/span> reopened<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> first<\/span> time<\/span> in<\/span> three<\/span> years.<\/span> Hong<\/span> Kong-based<\/span> Cathay<\/span> Pacific<\/span> Airways<\/span> (0293.HK)<\/span> said<\/span> Thursday<\/span> it<\/span> will<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> double<\/span> flights<\/span> to<\/span> cities<\/span> in<\/span> mainland<\/span> China,<\/span> welcoming<\/span> quarantine-free<\/span> travel.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Millions<\/span> of<\/span> people<\/span> are<\/span> planning<\/span> to<\/span> travel<\/span> across<\/span> China<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> Lunar<\/span> New<\/span> Year<\/span> holidays<\/span> later<\/span> this<\/span> month.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> Chinese<\/span> government<\/span> has<\/span> downplayed<\/span> the<\/span> seriousness<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> situation<\/span> in<\/span> recent<\/span> days,<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> state-run<\/span> Global<\/span> Times<\/span> in<\/span> an<\/span> article<\/span> on<\/span> Wednesday,<\/span> citing<\/span> interviews<\/span> with<\/span> doctors,<\/span> saying<\/span> COVID<\/span> had<\/span> peaked<\/span> in<\/span> several<\/span> cities,<\/span> including<\/span> the<\/span> capital<\/span> Beijing.<\/span> \u00a0
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>But<\/span> at<\/span> a<\/span> hospital<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Qingpu<\/span> suburb<\/span> of<\/span> Shanghai<\/span> on<\/span> Thursday,<\/span> patients<\/span> in<\/span> beds<\/span> lined<\/span> the<\/span> emergency<\/span> care<\/span> area<\/span> and<\/span> main<\/span> lobby<\/span> corridors,<\/span> most<\/span> of<\/span> them<\/span> elderly,<\/span> some<\/span> with<\/span> oxygen<\/span> tanks,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> Reuters<\/span> eyewitness.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span>A<\/span> chalkboard<\/span> indicated<\/span> that<\/span> patients<\/span> had<\/span> to<\/span> wait<\/span> an<\/span> average<\/span> of<\/span> five<\/span> hours<\/span> before<\/span> being<\/span> seen.<\/span> Staff<\/span> pronounced<\/span> the<\/span> elderly<\/span> patient<\/span> dead<\/span> and<\/span> attached<\/span> the<\/span> note<\/span> “respiratory<\/span> failure”<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> corpse<\/span> lying<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> floor.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Police<\/span> patrolled<\/span> the<\/span> outside<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> nearby<\/span> crematorium,<\/span> where<\/span> a<\/span> stream<\/span> of<\/span> wreath-wearing<\/span> mourners<\/span> waited<\/span> to<\/span> collect<\/span> the<\/span> ashes<\/span> of<\/span> their<\/span> loved<\/span> ones.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>China,<\/span> which<\/span> has<\/span> one<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> lowest<\/span> official<\/span> COVID<\/span> death<\/span> tolls<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> world,<\/span> has<\/span> been<\/span> routinely<\/span> accused<\/span> of<\/span> being<\/span> underreported<\/span> for<\/span> political<\/span> reasons.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Last<\/span> December,<\/span> the<\/span> WHO<\/span> said<\/span> it<\/span> had<\/span> received<\/span> no<\/span> data<\/span> on<\/span> new<\/span> COVID<\/span> hospitalizations<\/span> from<\/span> China<\/span> since<\/span> Beijing<\/span> lifted<\/span> its<\/span> zero<\/span> COVID<\/span> policy.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> its<\/span> latest<\/span> weekly<\/span> report,<\/span> the<\/span> WHO<\/span> said<\/span> China<\/span> had<\/span> reported<\/span> 218,019<\/span> new<\/span> COVID<\/span> cases<\/span> weekly<\/span> through<\/span> January.<\/span> 1,<\/span> it<\/span> adds<\/span> that<\/span> data<\/span> gaps<\/span> may<\/span> simply<\/span> be<\/span> due<\/span> to<\/span> authorities<\/span> struggling<\/span> to<\/span> count<\/span> cases.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Since<\/span> the<\/span> pandemic<\/span> first<\/span> emerged<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> central<\/span> Chinese<\/span> city<\/span> of<\/span> Wuhan<\/span> in<\/span> late<\/span> 2019,<\/span> countries<\/span> have<\/span> differed<\/span> in<\/span> how<\/span> they<\/span> count<\/span> COVID<\/span> deaths.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Chinese<\/span> health<\/span> officials<\/span> have<\/span> said<\/span> only<\/span> deaths<\/span> from<\/span> pneumonia<\/span> and<\/span> respiratory<\/span> failure<\/span> in<\/span> patients<\/span> infected<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> virus<\/span> are<\/span> classified<\/span> as<\/span> deaths<\/span> from<\/span> COVID.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>But<\/span> disease<\/span> experts<\/span> outside<\/span> China<\/span> say<\/span> their<\/span> approach<\/span> misses<\/span> several<\/span> other<\/span> widely<\/span> recognized<\/span> types<\/span> of<\/span> deadly<\/span> COVID<\/span> complications,<\/span> from<\/span> blood<\/span> clots<\/span> to<\/span> heart<\/span> attacks,<\/span> sepsis<\/span> and<\/span> kidney<\/span> failure.<\/span> He<\/span> said<\/span> he<\/span> would.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>International<\/span> health<\/span> experts<\/span> predict<\/span> at<\/span> least<\/span> 1<\/span> million<\/span> of<\/span> her<\/span> COVID-related<\/span> deaths<\/span> in<\/span> China<\/span> this<\/span> year,<\/span> but<\/span> no<\/span> urgent<\/span> action.<\/span> UK-based<\/span> health<\/span> data<\/span> company<\/span> Airfinity<\/span> estimates<\/span> that<\/span> about<\/span> 9,000<\/span> people<\/span> are<\/span> likely<\/span> to<\/span> die<\/span> from<\/span> COVID<\/span> in<\/span> China<\/span> each<\/span> day.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Rising<\/span> COVID<\/span> infections<\/span> are<\/span> hurting<\/span> demand<\/span> in<\/span> China’s<\/span> $17<\/span> trillion<\/span> economy,<\/span> with<\/span> Thursday’s<\/span> private<\/span> sector<\/span> survey<\/span> showing<\/span> service<\/span> activity<\/span> fell<\/span> in<\/span> December.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0BEIJING\/SHANGHAI (Reuters) Jan,5– After U.S. President Joe Biden voiced concern and the World Health Organization (WHO) said Beijing was underreporting the number of deaths from the virus, China said it would On Thursday, he defended his response to the raging COVID-19 outbreak. WHO Emergencies Director Mike Ryan said Wednesday that Chinese officials have underestimated the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2837,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[562,2425],"tags":[660,665,152,422,425],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/NFDOQZSS3ZLIPKYNNJKSYFVFOA.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2836"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2836"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2839,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2836\/revisions\/2839"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}