People wearing face masks carry shopping bags as they walk near Herald Square in New York City, the US on June 25. Photo: AFP

Why has the COVID-19 spread rampantly in some countries even after China cut off viral transmission routes to the rest of the world, the question deserves deep reflection and investigation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Wednesday at a press conference, when asked for comments about the US government's response to the epidemic.

As of 6 pm Wednesday, the US had reported nearly 6.1 million COVID-19 cases with 184,689 deaths. In contrast, the number of confirmed cases in China is smaller than 90,000, which has led many netizens to compare the two governments' response to the virus.  

"I wouldn't comment on the US' epidemic, but I remember that Dr Fauci said that the numbers would not lie," Hua said. 

Hua said that when Wuhan, the city that reported China's first case of COVID-19, closed all of its outbound channels on January 23, the US only reported one case. 

The US suspended all flights to China on January 31, and when it closed borders to all Chinese citizens on February 2, the US only had more than 10 cases. The timeline is clear, Hua said. It is a question that deserves deep reflection and investigation, as to why some countries' cases had spread so wildly in just a few months even after China cut viral transmit routes with the rest of the world, she noted. 

We are in sympathy with the situation of the US' people and hope that they can overcome the epidemic as soon as possible, Hua said. 

Global Times