Omicron variant: in slap at China, US praises South Africa’s detection of new Covid strain

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says South Africa’s transparency in sharing information about Omicron variant should serve as model for the world

US has repeatedly criticised China as not being forthcoming on the origins of the coronavirus

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The US has repeatedly criticised China as not being forthcoming on the origins of the coronavirus. Photo: AP

Published: 10:37am, 28 Nov 2021Updated: 3:33pm, 28 Nov 2021

The United States praised South Africa on Saturday for quickly identifying the new Covid strain called Omicron and sharing this information with the world – a barely veiled slap at China’s handling of the original outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to South African International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor and they discussed cooperation on vaccinating people in Africa against Covid-19, the State Department said.

“Secretary Blinken specifically praised South Africa’s scientists for the quick identification of the Omicron variant and South Africa’s government for its transparency in sharing this information, which should serve as a model for the world,” the statement said.

First under Donald Trump and now under President Joe Biden, the United States has repeatedly criticised China as not being forthcoming on the origins of the coronavirus, which was first detected in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan before spreading around the world. It has now killed nearly 5.2 million people.

In August of this year the US intelligence community released a report in which it said it could not reach a firm conclusion on the origins of the virus – among animals or in a research lab were top scenarios – because China had not helped in the US investigation.

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