WHO desires extra knowledge from China as Omicron spurs COVID surge – The Mercury Information

Naomi Kresge, Lisa Pham, and Immanuel John Milton

(Bloomberg) — Two identified subtypes of Omicron are accountable for the overwhelming majority of infections as COVID-19 sweeps by means of China, the World Well being Group stated Wednesday, repeating a name for extra transparency because the nation struggles to finish its COVID Zero coverage. :

The WHO desires quick, common and dependable knowledge on hospitalizations, in addition to extra complete viral sequencing in actual time, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus informed reporters at a briefing. The dearth of sufficient epidemiological knowledge from China is a key issue cited by the US and different nations as they impose new COVID testing necessities for vacationers. It’s clear that nations are taking steps to guard their residents, stated Tedros.

“We do not have the total knowledge but,” stated Mike Ryan, government director of the WHO’s emergencies program. The Chinese language numbers doubtless nonetheless underrepresent deaths, hospitalizations and intensive care occupancy, he stated, whereas praising the “elevated engagement” of information sharing from China over the previous 10 days.

The Omicron BA.5.2 and BF.7 lineages accounted for 97.5% of native infections in a pattern of two,000 genomes collected and sequenced since Dec. 1, the WHO stated, citing knowledge from the Chinese language Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention. At the moment, the Chinese language company has not reported any new variations, WHO stated.

The upcoming Lunar New 12 months vacation may set off a brand new wave of infections as folks collect to rejoice, stated Abdi Mahamoud, director of WHO’s alert and response coordination unit.

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