Geneva [Switzerland], December 31 : Five years after the Covid-19 outbreak that devastated lives worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) reiterated its call for China to provide critical data and access to understand the virus's origins, calling it a "moral and scientific imperative."
WHO further warned that without global transparency and collaboration, the world remains vulnerable to future epidemics.
In a statement issued on Monday, the WHO said, "We continue to call on China to share data and access so we can understand the origins of Covid-19. This is a moral and scientific imperative. Without transparency, sharing, and cooperation among countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics."
It added, "Five years ago on 31 December 2019, WHO's Country Office in China picked up a media statement by the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission from their website on cases of 'viral pneumonia' in Wuhan, China. In the weeks, months and years that unfolded after that, COVID-19 came to shape our lives and our world. At WHO, we went to work immediately as the new year dawned. WHO employees activated emergency systems on 1 January 2020, and informed the world on 4 January. By 9-12 January, WHO had published its first set of comprehensive guidance for countries, and on 13 January, we brought together partners to publish the blueprint of the first SARS-CoV-2 laboratory test."
The statement added, "As we mark this milestone, let's take a moment to honour the lives changed and lost, recognize those who are suffering from Covid-19 and long Covid, express gratitude to the health workers who sacrificed so much to care for us, and commit to learning from Covid-19 to build a healthier tomorrow."
Throughout 2020, WHO continued to discuss with China and other Member States the need to study and share information around the virus origins.
In July 2020 WHO sent a small team to China to plan a joint study comprising Chinese and independent international scientists. The team of scientists came from around the world: Australia, China, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, the United Kingdom, the US and Viet Nam.
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