HQ Team
January 15, 2023: China has provided the WHO with information about its outpatient clinics, hospitalizations, patients requiring emergency treatment and hospital deaths due to Coivd-19 infection, according to the global agency.
The WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, spoke with Minister Ma Xiaowei, director of China’s National Health Commission, about the COVID-19 situation in Beijing.
“WHO appreciates this meeting, as well as the public release of information on the overall situation,” according to a WHO statement. The reported data indicate a decline in case numbers, hospitalizations, and those requiring critical care. WHO has requested a more detailed breakdown of data by province over time.
The agency is analyzing this information, which covers early December 2022 to January 12 2023, and allows for a better understanding of the epidemiological situation and the impact of this wave in China.
WHO had urged China to share detailed information with the organization and the public.
Omicron sub-variants
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention had earlier reported that Omicron sublineages BA.5.2 and BF.7 were currently in circulation.
“The overall epidemiology reflects a rapid and intense wave of disease caused by known sub-variants of Omicron,” according to the statement.
The sub-variants have a higher clinical impact on older people. Those with underlying conditions are similar to waves of infection experienced by other countries, as is the increased pressure on health services.
WHO told China that it must share with open-access databases such as GISAID (Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data). It is a global science initiative and primary source established in 2008 that provides open access to genomic data of influenza viruses and the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.
The global agency stated that the sharing of genome sequences would help in deeper phylogenetic analyses and for continued collaboration with technical groups working on virus evolution, clinical care, and beyond.
