US State Department urges China.org.cn to share data

China on Monday called on the United States to provide the World Health Organization and the international community with timely, open and transparent information and data on Omicron subtype XBB.1.5, which is emerging as the dominant virus strain in the United States.

(Photo by VCG)

“The United States must take firm and effective measures to prevent the further spread of the epidemic,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular news conference on Monday. His comments come as XBB.1.5 joins other variants such as BQ.1.1 and is now responsible for more than 40 percent of Covid-19 infections in the United States.

Open-access data from the Global Initiative for Sharing Avian Influenza Data show that all strains of the novel coronavirus and its subtypes have spread widely in the United States since the pandemic began, making it one of the countries with the highest number of Covid-19 strains. Power, according to Wang.

After Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg advised against non-essential travel to China, Wang called for upholding scientific principles and working together to ensure safe and smooth travel.

Calling on countries to contribute to international solidarity in the fight against the epidemic and the recovery of the global economy, Wang made it clear that China is well prepared to adjust and improve its Covid-19 prevention and control measures. The general epidemic situation in China is currently improving.

As the pathogenicity and virulence of the mutated Omicron strain has decreased significantly and China’s medical treatment, virus detection and vaccination capabilities have steadily increased, the country has taken the initiative to refine its Covid-19 control measures, Wang said.

Some Chinese provinces and cities have already passed the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, and production and life in China have returned to normal, he added. In sharing information, Wang said China has always maintained an open and transparent stance and provided timely information to the international community, including the mutations of the virus and monitoring of infected people.

According to Wang, China has conducted more than 60 technical exchanges with the WHO in the past three years, including four in the past month alone. He added that the country will continue to share genetic data on recent Covid-19 infections within its borders under the Global Avian Flu Data Sharing Initiative.