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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 3 June 2020
WHO high temperature. Scientists
Continued from Front at Chulalongkorn University
Although WHO contin- soon figured out she was
ued to publicly commend infected with a new coro-
China, the recordings ob- navirus, but did not have
tained by the AP show they a sequence from China to
were concerned China match it.
was not sharing enough WHO officials, meanwhile,
information to assess the grumbled in internal meet-
risk posed by the new virus, ings that China was stalling
costing the world valuable on providing crucial out-
time. break details even though
"We're currently at the stage it was technically meeting
where yes, they're giving its obligations under inter-
it to us 15 minutes before national law. Ryan, WHO's
it appears on CCTV," said emergencies chief, said
WHO's top official in China, it was time to "shift gears"
Dr. Gauden Galea, refer- and push for more informa-
ring to the state-owned tion.
China Central Television, in "The danger now is that
one meeting. despite our good intent...
The story behind the early there will be a lot of finger-
response to the pandemic pointing at WHO if some-
comes at a time when the thing does happen," he
U.N. health agency is under said.
siege. U.S. President Trump On Jan. 11, Shanghai's
cut ties with WHO on Friday, Zhang finally published
after blasting the agency the coronavirus sequence
for allegedly colluding with ahead of health authorities
China to hide the extent on virological.org, used by
of the epidemic. Chinese researchers to swap tips on
President Xi Jinping said pathogens. It was only then
China has always provided that the Chinese CDC, Wu-
information to WHO and han Institute of Virology
the world "in a most timely and the Chinese Academy
fashion." of Medical Sciences raced
The new information does In this Jan. 28, 2020, file photo, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World to publish their sequences,
not support the narrative of Health Organization, left, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping before a meeting at the doing so on Jan. 12.
either the U.S. or China, but Great Hall of the People in Beijing. On Jan. 20, Chinese au-
portrays an agency now Associated Press thorities warned the virus
stuck in the middle that spread between people.
was urgently trying to solicit the virus between people few months, China has sion, issued a confidential WHO dispatched a small
more data. Although inter- would be in question and repeatedly defended its notice forbidding labs from team to Wuhan from its
national law obliges coun- "other countries will take actions, and many other publishing about the virus Asia offices. China repre-
tries to report information action accordingly." countries — including the without authorization. The sentative Galea told col-
to WHO that could have an From the time the virus was U.S. — have responded to order barred Shi's lab from leagues the Chinese were
impact on public health, first decoded on Jan. 2 to the virus with even longer publishing the sequence "talking openly and consis-
the U.N. agency has no en- when WHO declared a delays of weeks and even or warning of the possible tently about human-to-hu-
forcement powers. Instead, global emergency on Jan. months. danger. man transmission."
it must rely on the coopera- 30, the outbreak grew by a In late December, doctors Commission officials later WHO's emergency commit-
tion of member states. factor of 100 to 200 times, noticed mysterious clusters said the order was to pre- tee of independent experts
The AP has found rather according to retrospective of patients with unusual vent any accidental re- met twice that week and
than colluding with China, Chinese Center for Disease pneumonia. Seeking an- lease of the then-unknown decided against recom-
WHO was itself largely kept Control and Prevention swers, they sent samples to pathogen, and to ensure mending an emergency.
in the dark, as China gave data. commercial labs. By Dec. consistent results by giving But the agency's concern
it only the minimal informa- WHO and officials named 27, one company, Vision it to four state labs to iden- prompted an unusual trip
tion required. But the agen- in this story declined to an- Medicals, had pieced to- tify at the same time. to Beijing by WHO director-
cy did attempt to portray swer questions asked by gether most of the genome By Jan. 5, two other gov- general Tedros Adhanom
China in the best light, most the AP without audio or of a new virus with striking ernment labs sequenced Ghebreyesus and top sci-
likely to coax the country written transcripts of the similarities to SARS. They the virus, and another lab entists.
into providing more out- recorded meetings, which alerted Wuhan officials, in Shanghai led by Zhang At the end of Tedros' trip,
break details. the AP was unable to sup- who, days later, issued in- Yongzhen had also decod- WHO convened another
WHO officials worried ply to protect its sources. ternal notices warning of ed it. Zhang warned the emergency meeting, finally
about how to press China "Our leadership and staff the unusual pneumonia. National Health Commis- declaring a global emer-
for more information with- have worked night and On Dec. 30, Shi Zhengli, a sion the virus was "likely in- gency on Jan. 30. Tedros
out angering authorities or day….to support and share renowned coronavirus ex- fectious." The Chinese CDC thanked China profusely,
jeopardizing Chinese sci- information with all Mem- pert at the Wuhan Institute raised its emergency level declining to mention any of
entists, whom they praised ber States equally, and en- of Virology, was alerted to to the second highest, but WHO's earlier frustrations.
for decoding the genome gage in frank and forthright the disease, and by Jan. 2, did not have the authority "We should have actually
with astonishing speed. Dr. conversations with govern- her team had fully decod- to alert the public. expressed our respect and
Michael Ryan, WHO's emer- ments at all levels," a WHO ed it. Suspicious cases starting gratitude to China for what
gencies chief, said the best statement said. But when it came to sharing surfacing across the region. it's doing," he said. "It has
way to "protect China" was China's National Health the genome with the world, In Thailand, airport officials already done incredible
for WHO to do its own inde- Commission and Ministry things went awry. China's pulled aside a woman trav- things to limit the transmis-
pendent analysis, because of Foreign Affairs had no top medical authority, the eling from Wuhan with a sion of the virus to other
otherwise the spread of comment. But in the past National Health Commis- runny nose, sore throat and countries."q