With China registering only 25 new cases of coronavirus cases on the mainland, Beijing has been accused by experts of constantly lying and being deceptive about the virus data.
In an email, Professor Stanley Rosen claimed that “any inaccuracies would probably be emanating from local officials who refer to the central government.”
“I would think that even if the statistics are not completely accurate, they do suggest that China is doing a reasonably good job of controlling further outbreaks,” said Rosen.
The China expert added that asymptomatic cases are not included as reported cases by the Beijing government, and even those figures were really low.
China And Its Misleading Actions:
“China is very opaque when it comes to transparency, so it’s always hard to know how accurate their reported statistical data is, and there seems to be little question that when Covid first broke out in Wuhan, and for a considerable time afterward, the number of deaths from Covid was seriously underreported,” he said.
“Throughout most of the pandemic, reported numbers from the country have included only confirmed cases, as opposed to a more broad case definition including clinically diagnosed (but not laboratory-confirmed) cases; this also would lead to an undercounting and underreporting of cases”. Dr. Stephen E. Hawes, the chair of the University of Washington‘s epidemiology department said.
In a conversation with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reporters’ Andrea Mitchell, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the “failure” of China and its government to share and provide relevant details about the contagious disease is something “we must address.”
“There is no doubt that, especially when COVID-19 first hit but even today, China is falling far short of the mark when it comes to providing the information necessary to the international community, making sure that experts have access to China. All of the – that lack of transparency, that lack of being forthcoming, is a profound problem and it’s one that continues.” He stated in the interview.
“China has to step up and make sure that it is being transparent, that it is providing information and sharing information… Its failure to do that is a real problem that we have to address,” he added.
Then, recently, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the pandemic was preventable, adding that Beijing did not disclose crucial virus knowledge that would have assisted scientists to secure the planet from the epidemic.
