Do we have China’s full Covid data? The WHO is pushing for more

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is ramping up pressure on China to share key data on its latest coronavirus outbreak, using public statements and behind-the-scenes meetings to push Beijing as it tries to map the largest surge of the pandemic – even if it risks the government’s wrath.

It is a stark contrast to the WHO’s approach in early 2020, when its leader, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, praised China’s “transparency” on the new virus even as reports suggested Beijing had deliberately undercounted cases and silenced whistleblowers.

But the new approach might be paying off. China’s National Health Commission recently announced a significant revision of its data, raising the death toll in hospitals since severe coronavirus restrictions were lifted in December from 37 to nearly 60,000. At the same time, Ma Xiaowei, director of China’s National Health Commission, shared much of the same data with Tedros, according to a WHO readout of a call between them.