WHO chief executive Tedros called on China on Tuesday to change its line, saying he said so-called zero tolerance would not be sustainable in the face of new rapidly spreading viral changes.
According to the Director-General of the World Health Organization, the zero-tolerance line for coronavirus chosen by China is unsustainable.
Director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday that the “evolving” and “more contagious” virus means China should reconsider its dependence on tight containment and mass testing to stifle infection chains.
In early 2020, the WHO chief received criticism for not demanding more transparency from Beijing about the origin of the virus.
New modeling shows China’s actions threaten to unleash a “tsunami” of corona infections and cause the deaths of up to 1.6 million people if it does not abandon its line, the Financial Times reported.
The outbreak of the omicron variant in China has led local authorities to impose strict confinement facilities. Millions of Chinese have been assigned to their homes as the rest of the world adjusts to life with the virus.
China slipped from Tedros ’comments and censored his comments from two major Chinese social media platforms, Weibo and WeChat.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has urged Tedros to avoid “irresponsible” remarks. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian defended China’s measures to combat the pandemic. According to Zhao, China hopes the WHO director-general will look at China’s corona measures objectively.