Coronavirus: Chinese premier warns against cover-up of outbreaks
- Li Keqiang says transparency and correct reporting essential to containing the spread
- Number of infections continues to rise in Hebei neighbouring the nation’s capital
Premier Li Keqiang told a State Council executive meeting on Friday that transparency was essential to controlling outbreaks.
“In the process of prevention and control of the infectious disease, one of the keys is to seek the truth from facts, openly and transparently release epidemic information, and never allow concealing or under-reporting,” Li said, according to a statement released on Saturday.
His warning comes as China battles a new cluster of coronavirus infections, with a new outbreak spreading rapidly in Hebei province, which surrounds the nation’s capital, the country’s top security priority.
On Saturday, mainland China reported 69 new cases, more than double the 33 reported a day earlier. Most of the locally transmitted cases – 46 out of 48 – were in Hebei.
State broadcaster CCTV reported on Sunday that all religious activities had been stopped temporarily in villages in Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital and epicentre of the Hebei outbreak.
The authorities also dismissed speculation that European and American priests had been preaching in the community, the report said.