Mao Ning, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “We hope that the WHO Secretariat maintains a scientific, objective and correct position and strives to play a positive role in the global response to the pandemic challenge.”
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed
These are difficult weeks for China, where the Covid situation seems to be becoming more critical by the day. The wave of infections sweeping the country has prompted numerous other states to impose restrictive measures on travelers from China to contain the spread of the virus. After the World Health Organization denounced Beijing’s underestimation of Covid-induced deaths and the number of sick, China has asked it to “take an impartial stance”. Mao Ning, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “We hope that the WHO Secretariat maintains a scientific, objective and correct position and strives to play a positive role in the global response to the pandemic challenge.”
The last measures taken and the new alarms
Despite the reassurances, several countries have imposed border control measures on those coming from China, including Italy. The latest to ‘tighten’ the rules is Japan, which has announced that all visitors from China will be required to present a negative smear before entering the country in addition to a test on arrival. The rule, which takes effect on Saturday, January 7, was announced by Fumio Kishida, Japan’s prime minister. Meanwhile, in the United States, a new Covid sub-variant, Xbb1.5, has already been rebranded as Kraken, which is of great concern to experts, after the number of cases “doubled in a week”. In 2023, this could also “cause concern” in Europe. American epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding underlined it on Twitter, according to which “the new variant is more immuno-evasive and more effective at infecting than other sub-variants of Omicron”. Named after the legendary sea monster, according to Feigl-Ding, “We haven’t seen such a rapid growth in cases since the arrival of Omicron Ba.1 a year ago.” British epidemiologist Tim Spector also tweeted that Xbb1.5 “could be the new variant to watch out for in 2023”. However, for Columbia University experts, “Xbb.1.5 is very likely to have originated in the United States, with the first case discovered in October 2022 in the New York area.”
Source: TG 24 Sky
I am Barbara Redford, a professional journalist and writer with extensive experience in news reporting. I have been writing for The News Dept since 2019, covering topics related to health and wellness. My passion is to keep people informed about the latest developments in healthcare and the medical industry.
