Amid attack from Trump, WHO praises China pandemic work

Beijing: The World Health Organisation has praised China for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and said that other countries need to learn from Wuhan on how the epicentre of the virus was bringing the society back to normal, a day after US President Donald Trump likened the global health body to a public relations agency for Beijing.
Trump on Thursday said the WHO should be “ashamed” of itself, as he compared the UN’s health organ to a public relations agency for China amidst the coronavirus pandemic after it originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
The Trump administration has launched a probe into the role of the WHO on coronavirus, and has temporarily suspended the US’ financial assistance to it.
Many countries, including Germany, Britain and Australia, are blaming China for the spread of coronavirus, that has killed over 2,35,000 people globally, including 64,000 Americans, and has infected 3.3 million.
Noting that there are zero cases in Wuhan, Maria van Kerkhove, the technical lead for the WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme at a virtual press briefing in Geneva, said, “that’s very very welcome news to hear that there are no more severe cases, no more patients in Wuhan.” “So congratulations on this achievement,” state-run Xinhua news agency quoted her as saying on Saturday.
“The world has learned from China and we need to continue to learn from Wuhan on how they are lifting those measures, how they are bringing society back to normal, or a new normal, in terms of how we’re going to live with this virus going forward,” she said.
Health officials in Wuhan said all COVID-19 cases were cleared from hospitals on Sunday. The Hubei province and its capital Wuhan have not reported coronavirus cases for 28 consecutive days since April 4, the local health commission said on Saturday.
The central province also lowered its emergency level from highest to next level on Saturday. The lowering of the emergency level shows a major breakthrough in Hubei’s prevention and control against COVID-19, Vice-Governor of Hubei Yang Yunyan told the media on Friday. (PTI)