WHO implores China to finally share Covid origins data, five years on
‘This is a moral and scientific imperative,’ World Health Organization says in statement marking five years since Chinese authorities first alerted to ‘viral pneumonia’ in Wuhan
The World Health Organization on Monday implored China to share data and access to help understand the origins of Covid-19, five years on from the start of the pandemic that upended the planet.
“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 in a statement.
“Without transparency, sharing, and cooperation among countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics,” the WHO said.
The WHO recounted how on 31 December 2019, its country office in China picked up a media statement from health authorities in Wuhan concerning cases of “viral pneumonia” in the city.
“In the weeks, months and years that unfolded after that, Covid-19 came to shape our lives and our world,” the UN health agency said.
