China ‘Could Have Acted More Quickly’ In Dealing With COVID-19, WHO’s Pandemic Response Probe Declares

CHINA could have acted more quickly in dealing with Covid-19, the WHO’s pandemic response probe declared on Monday. The WHO-backed Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response said it was ‘clear’ that ‘public health measures could have been applied more forcefully by local and national health authorities in China’ in January last year. 

The panel, set up last July after countries including Australia angered China by calling for an investigation, said there was ‘potential for early signs to have been acted on more rapidly’ by both China and the WHO. 

The criticism is at odds with the WHO’s public statements at the time, when it praised China for the ‘remarkable speed’ with which it responded to the outbreak.  

The panel also faulted the WHO itself, which has faced a chorus of criticism led by Donald Trump for being too close to Beijing – although evidence has since emerged that China withheld