China Covid data shows no new variant but under-reports deaths, WHO says
- The UN agency was releasing information provided by the Chinese CDC, a day after its officials had a meeting with Chinese scientists
- The data shows a predominance of Omicron lineages BA.5.2 and BF.7 among locally acquired infections, allaying concerns for now about a new variant emerging
Data from China shows no new coronavirus variant has been found there, but it also under-represents how many people have died in the country’s rapidly spreading outbreak, World Health Organization officials said on Wednesday.
Global unease has grown about the accuracy of China’s reporting of an outbreak that has filled hospitals and overwhelmed some funeral homes since Beijing abruptly reversed its zero-Covid policy.
The UN agency was releasing data provided by the Chinese Centre For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a day after WHO officials met Chinese scientists. China has been reporting daily Covid-19 deaths in single figures.
Mike Ryan, the WHO’s emergencies director, told a media briefing that current numbers being published from China under-represented numbers of hospital admissions, ICU admissions and “particularly in terms of death”.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN agency was continuing to seek more rapid and regular data from China on hospitalisations and deaths.