The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) voiced concern over China’s move to combat coronavirus outbreaks with a Covid-19 zero policy.
WHO Director -General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in his briefing that they did not consider the policies implemented by China to be sustainable following the behavior of the virus.
He also said they had already discussed the issue with Chinese experts and noted the approach was unsustainable and argued that change was very important.
Mike Ryan, WHO executive director, added that the impact of Covid's zero policy on human rights needs to be taken into account in addition to the economic impact.
China has recorded 15,000 deaths since the virus first appeared in the city of Wuhan in late 2019, a relatively low number compared to 1 million in the United States and over 500,000 in India.
Thus, it is understandable that as one of the most populous countries in the world, China would like to take decisive measures to curb the spread of coronavirus.
However, Mike Ryan thinks the ongoing outbreak has made it difficult to stop the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Major Chinese cities, including Shanghai and Beijing have been under several closures since the beginning of the year that have sparked various criticisms.
However, President Xi Jinping remained steadfast in his stance to pursue the policy and warned against any criticism or skepticism of the policy.
