WHO chief 'very concerned' about COVID-19 in China

The head of the World Health Organization said the agency is “very concerned” about rising reports of severe coronavirus disease across China.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General said "WHO is very concerned over the evolving situation in China with increasing reports of severe disease. In order to make a comprehensive risk assessment of the situation on the ground, WHO needs more detailed information on disease severity, hospital admissions and requirements for ICU support. WHO is supporting China to focus its efforts on vaccinating people at the highest risk across the country."

WHO emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan said the explosive surge of cases in China was not exclusively due to the lifting of many of the country's restrictive policies and that it was impossible to stop transmission of omicron, the most highly infectious variant yet seen of COVID-19.