Questions on China’s coronavirus response can wait, says former WHO official
- Influenza expert who dealt with previous viral outbreaks defends World Health Organisation from criticism
- Now is the time to focus on the global effort to contain the disease, he says
Keiji Fukuda, an influenza epidemiology expert at University of Hong Kong with a long history at the WHO, also called on the public to distinguish between the day-to-day work of the organisation and the choice of words used by its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Fukuda’s comments came amid criticism of the WHO director general for deflecting criticism of China and delaying the declaration of a global health emergency over the coronavirus outbreak, which originated in Wuhan, capital of the central Chinese province of Hubei.
The Chinese government has also been under fire at home and abroad for allegedly withholding information during the early stages of the outbreak which has infected some 40,000 people and killed more than 1,000.
The death toll from the coronavirus has exceeded the 813 people killed by severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) which swept through China and other parts of Asia in 2002-03.