China pressured WHO to delay global COVID-19 warning: report
- 4 years ago
"팬데믹 연기 요청" 시진핑 직접 전화...WHO "사실과 달라"
It has emerged that Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly pressured the director-general of the World Health Organization in January... to hold off on issuing a global pandemic warning about COVID-19 just as the virus was ravaging the city and spreading fast.
Lee Seung-jae has more.
In January,... COVID-19 sprouted up in the Chinese city of Wuhan,... quickly spreading to neighboring countries, such as Hong Kong and Singapore.
Around that time,... the World Health Organization held a two-day emergency meeting.
However,... the outbreak was not declared a pandemic.
"This is, though, an emergency in China. But it has not yet become a global health emergency. It may yet become one.
Citing BND,... Germany's federal intelligence service,... German media reports that there are suspicions the WHO's decision to delay the pandemic declaration was caused by pressure from Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The report says Xi called for a meeting with the WHO chief on January 21st,... and asked for the pandemic warning to be delayed.
Even when South Korea saw its first infection on January 20th,... followed by the U.S.'s first infection the following day,... the WHO did not declare a global pandemic,... a decision the BND estimates resulted in the loss of four to six weeks in the fight against COVID-19.
The WHO released a statement,... calling the allegations "unfounded and untrue",... adding the WHO chief and President Xi did not speak on January 21st,... nor have they ever spoken by phone.
The WHO continued to say China confirmed human-to-human transmission to the UN health agency on January 20th,... and that the agency "publicly declared" two days later that such transmission was taking place in Wuhan.
The statements also come as President Trump has blasted China for holding back critical information about the virus,... including its failure to accurately report on the number of cases.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
It has emerged that Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly pressured the director-general of the World Health Organization in January... to hold off on issuing a global pandemic warning about COVID-19 just as the virus was ravaging the city and spreading fast.
Lee Seung-jae has more.
In January,... COVID-19 sprouted up in the Chinese city of Wuhan,... quickly spreading to neighboring countries, such as Hong Kong and Singapore.
Around that time,... the World Health Organization held a two-day emergency meeting.
However,... the outbreak was not declared a pandemic.
"This is, though, an emergency in China. But it has not yet become a global health emergency. It may yet become one.
Citing BND,... Germany's federal intelligence service,... German media reports that there are suspicions the WHO's decision to delay the pandemic declaration was caused by pressure from Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The report says Xi called for a meeting with the WHO chief on January 21st,... and asked for the pandemic warning to be delayed.
Even when South Korea saw its first infection on January 20th,... followed by the U.S.'s first infection the following day,... the WHO did not declare a global pandemic,... a decision the BND estimates resulted in the loss of four to six weeks in the fight against COVID-19.
The WHO released a statement,... calling the allegations "unfounded and untrue",... adding the WHO chief and President Xi did not speak on January 21st,... nor have they ever spoken by phone.
The WHO continued to say China confirmed human-to-human transmission to the UN health agency on January 20th,... and that the agency "publicly declared" two days later that such transmission was taking place in Wuhan.
The statements also come as President Trump has blasted China for holding back critical information about the virus,... including its failure to accurately report on the number of cases.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.