China admitted today that the new coronavirus, first detected in that country last December, revealed “gaps” in the Chinese health system and its mechanisms for preventing infectious diseases.
“The fight against the covid-19 epidemic was a major test for the country’s system and governance capabilities,” said Chinese Vice Minister of Health Li Bin at a press conference in Beijing.
The official admitted that the outbreak “also revealed that China still has gaps in its systems and mechanisms for preventing and controlling major epidemics and in its public health system”.
The Chinese deputy minister of health’s statements come at a time when the United States has intensified accusations and criticisms of Beijing, with the US administration saying that Chinese authorities have hidden information about the virus and mismanaged the crisis.
“It could have been fought in China,” US President Donald Trump said last week of the covid-19 pandemic.
Beijing has said it has quickly shared all data it has on the new coronavirus with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other countries.
On Friday, China announced that it supports the creation of a commission, under the auspices of WHO, to assess the “global response” to covid-19 in an “open, transparent and inclusive” way, but only “after the end of the Epidemic”.
At the same press conference in Beijing, the deputy minister of Health mentioned some possible measures that could improve the Chinese health system, including the creation of a “centralized, unified and efficient command”.
The representative also mentioned a better use of artificial intelligence technology and large-scale data (‘big data’) to anticipate epidemics.
Li Bin also spoke of improving health laws and “strengthening international cooperation”.
China was the first country hit by the covid-19 pandemic in December 2019, when the new coronavirus was detected in the city of Wuhan (central region).
Several doctors in Wuhan who gave the first warning about the appearance of a new virus were questioned by the police and accused of spreading “rumors”.
More than 80,000 people have so far been infected with the new coronavirus in China, including 4,633 fatalities, according to the latest official report, which states that the country has only detected one case of infection in the past 24 hours.
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