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Members of the WHO team visit a local community in Wuhan, Hubei Province, central China, February 4, 2021. /CFP
There have been voices accusing China of hiding data on the early days of the outbreak from the foreign experts, especially data of 174 early cases in central China's Wuhan City, once the epicenter of COVID-19 outbreak.
A WHO team comprising international experts arrived in Wuhan on January 14. They formed a joint body with Chinese experts for the Chinese part of the global study on the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemic.
Liang Wannian, the Chinese leader of the WHO-China joint expert team, said at a press conference on July 22 that the data about the 174 cases was displayed in its entirety and the Chinese side and the foreign side of the team examined the data together.
He added that the experts were not allowed to take pictures of or copy the data in order to protect the privacy of those COVID-19 patients.
"At that time, the foreign experts said they understood our practice," he explained. "Since it's a common practice not only in China, but also across the world."
Zeng Yixin, deputy head of the National Health Commission, said at the press conference that the WHO team studied a massive amount of epidemic-related data and visited nine facilities, including Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, Huanan seafood market and the Wuhan Institute of Virology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
"The team conducted extensive exchanges with local medical workers, lab researchers, scientists and market managers. They also interviewed social workers, community workers, residents and patients who had recovered," said Zeng.
China will continue to support efforts to trace the origins of the coronavirus, saidMa Zhaoxu, China's vice foreign minister, at a news briefing on Friday, adding that China is implementing and will continue to practice relevant suggestions based on the China-WHO joint research report released in March.
(With input from Xinhua)
