WHO chief says China’s zero-Covid policy not ‘sustainable’
- Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says he thinks a shift would be ‘very important’, and the issue has been discussed with Chinese experts
- Increased knowledge about the coronavirus and better tools to combat it also suggested it was time for a change of strategy, he added
The head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday that China’s zero-tolerance Covid-19 policy is not sustainable given what is now known of the virus, in rare public comments by the UN agency on a government’s handling of the pandemic.
“We don’t think that it is sustainable considering the behaviour of the virus and what we now anticipate in the future,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a media briefing.
“We have discussed this issue with Chinese experts. And we indicated that the approach will not be sustainable … I think a shift would be very important.”
He said increased knowledge about the virus and better tools to combat it also suggested it was time for a change of strategy.
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Speaking after Tedros, WHO emergencies director Mike Ryan said the impact of a “zero-Covid” policy on human rights also needs to be taken into consideration.
“We have always said as WHO that we need to balance the control measures against the impact they have on society, the impact they have on the economy, and that is not always an easy calibration,” said Ryan.