Beijing asserts that it has shared everything it can about the coronavirus ‘without holding anything back.’ The World Health Organization (WHO) asked China five years ago to explain how COVID-19 emerged.
The coronavirus killed millions, locked up billions in their homes, crippled economies, and destroyed health systems. We continue to call on China to share data and access so we can understand the origins of COVID-19. This is a moral and scientific imperative,” the WHO said.
“Without transparency, sharing, and cooperation among countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics.” The WHO recalled how, on December 31, 2019, its country office in China captured a media statement by health authorities in the central city of Wuhan concerning cases of “viral pneumonia.”
“In the weeks, months and years that unfolded after that, COVID-19 shaped our lives and our world,” the UN health agency said. As we celebrate this milestone, let us take a moment to honour the lives changed and lost, recognize those suffering from COVID-19 and Long-Term COVID, express gratitude to the health workers who sacrificed so much to care for us, and commit to learning from COVID-19 to build a healthier tomorrow.
