Coronavirus: China’s Centres for Disease Control should have power to warn public, says country’s leading expert
- Zhong Nanshan tells state media that the CDC is currently a ‘technical unit’ but should have authority to sound the alarm and release information
- Spread of Covid-19 has led to renewed focus on failures in the country’s infectious disease control measures
China’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention should play a stronger role in raising the alarm over disease outbreaks, the country’s leading epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan said on Sunday.
“The CDC should be granted certain powers, rather than merely being a technical unit to collect and report data,” Zhong told People’s Daily in response to a question about what an ideal CDC would look like.
“China’s CDC is so far basically a technical department. In finding problems, discovering origins of viruses, assessing the severity of contagion, it should have the authority to interpret,” he said.
“On one hand it needs professionals, on the other hand it needs to be empowered, like those in some other countries, that can speak to the public when necessary or in emergencies.”
It was not the first time Zhong has called for China’s CDC to be given more powers. In a press briefing in February, he said that CDC’s functioning had been weakened in recent years, and it was unable to report directly to the central government or issue public warnings.