official WHO announcements or press releases from the Chinese government

On Pandemic's 5th Anniversary, WHO Calls China's Cooperation a "Moral Imperative" in COVID-19 Origins

Dec 30, 2024, 06:03 PM

Five years after the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, the World Health Organization (WHO) has renewed its call for China to share data and cooperate in understanding the virus's origins, deeming it a "moral and scientific imperative." On December 30, 2019, Wuhan doctors Dr. Li Wenliang and Dr. Ai Fen raised alarms about a cluster of pneumonia cases linked to a SARS-related coronavirus. Dr. Li, who was later reprimanded by authorities and tragically died 39 days after his warning, had alerted colleagues via WeChat. Since the first cases were reported to the WHO on December 31, 2019, COVID-19 has resulted in over 777 million infections and 7 million deaths worldwide. The WHO continues to urge China for transparency to comprehend how the pandemic began.