Topline
China and the World Health Organization (WHO) failed to act quickly and more forcefully at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, an independent panel set up by the WHO said on Monday, putting a spotlight on China’s lack of transparency early during the outbreak and the global health body’s decision to wait until January 30, 2020, to declare an international emergency.
A medical personnel collects swab sample during Covid-19 coronavirus testing.
Key Facts
In an interim report, the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response said that public health measures should have been applied “more forcefully” by local and national health authorities in China in January 2020.
The panel noted that early evidence of human-to-human transmission should have been taken more seriously adding, “in far too many countries, this signal was ignored.”
The panel’s report also takes the WHO to task for holding its first emergency committee meeting in the fourth week of January and then waiting until a second meeting before declaring a ‘public health emergency of international concern.’
Two of the report’s key conclusions are that the “global pandemic alert system is not fit for purpose” and the WHO has been “underpowered to do the job expected of it.”
Crucial Quote
“Although the term pandemic is neither used nor defined in the International Health Regulations (2005), its use does serve to focus attention on the gravity of a health event. It was not until 11 March that WHO used the term,” the report said.
Key Background
The panel, led by former prime minister of New Zealand Helen Clark and former Liberian president Ellen Johnson, was set up by the WHO to investigate the failures that led to the pandemic spiraling out of control. While the panel’s investigation is ongoing, the interim report has called for significant reforms to the global health structure to prevent a similar disaster in the future. A WHO team arrived in China last week to investigate the origins of the coronavirus outbreak, weeks later than originally planned as Beijing initially blocked them from flying into the country. The investigation follows several nations, like the United States and Australia, having accused China of underplaying the virus during the initial stages of the pandemic, after it was first detected in the city of Wuhan in late 2019.
What To Watch For
After repeatedly antagonizing the WHO for its failures, President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the global body last year, cutting off its largest source of funding. However, President-elect Joe Biden has said that he plans to reverse this move after taking office later this week.
Further Reading
Covid Response Was a Global Series of Failures, W.H.O.-Established Panel Says (New York Times)
China and WHO acted too slowly to contain Covid-19, says independent panel (CNN)
