China responds to US COVID-19 allegations

The Chinese government says it has been open, transparent, and responsible in its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement, it said when the first report of three cases of pneumonia of unknown causes was made on December 27, 2019 by Dr Zhang Jixian of the critical care department of the Hubei Provincial Hospital of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, the country responded promptly using laid down procedure.

It said between December 27 and December 31, 2019, the Wuhan CDC and Wuhan Municipal Health Commission conducted an epidemiological investigation and testing on the patients concerned, issued emergency notices, and informed the World Health Organisation China Country Office of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause detected in Wuhan.

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“On 3 January 2020, China began sending regular, timely updates about the novel coronavirus to WHO, other countries, including the United States, and China’s Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions.

“Between 3 January and 3 February, China updated the US 30 times on the epidemic situation and its response measures,” the statement read.

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“China completed the identification and sequencing of the virus as early as on 7 January 2020, and shared the genome sequence information with WHO and other countries on 11 January.

“On 10 January, the Wuhan Institute of Virology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other professional institutions developed preliminary testing kits, and stepped up research on vaccines and effective medication.”