Medical workers treat a patient in a temporary fever clinic at Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Xiqing District, north China's Tianjin, Dec. 28, 2022. To meet the needs of fever patients seeking medical treatment and relieve the pressure on fever clinics in medical institutions, a temporary fever clinic was recently put into use at the new campus of Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Xiqing District in Tianjin.(Photo: Xinhua)

To further strengthen technical exchanges and cooperation on epidemic prevention and control, China's top health authority spoke with WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus about the country's COVID-19 situation on Saturday.

Since the early days of the epidemic, China has shared information with the World Health Organization and other countries, Ma Xiaowei, director of the National Health Commission said during the call. China was the first country to identify the pathogen, share its genetic sequence and established a mechanism for technical exchange with the WHO.

As China took the initiative to optimize and adjust its epidemic prevention and control policies in light of the current situation in early December, the two sides have conducted several technical exchanges, Ma pointed out.

Speaking at a regular press conference on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that China has been in close communication with the WHO. In the past month alone, China had carried out five technical exchanges with the organization.

China will continue to support the WHO in playing its role and rallying the international community to combat the epidemic, Ma said.

The WHO appreciated this meeting, as well as the public release of information on the overall situation, the organization said in a statement issued on Saturday.

Chinese officials provided information to the WHO and held a press conference covering a range of topics, including outpatient clinics, hospitalizations, patients requiring emergency treatment and critical care, and hospital deaths related to COVID-19 infection.

The WHO noted the efforts made by Chinese authorities to scale up clinical care for its vast population at all levels, including critical care, it said. The reported data indicate a decline in case numbers, hospitalizations and those requiring critical care.

China reported 59,938 COVID-19 related deaths at hospitals from December 8, 2022 to Thursday, a health official said on Saturday.

Jiao Yahui, head of the National Health Commission's medical administration bureau, said that 5,503 fatalities were caused by respiratory failure induced by the infection, and the other 54,435 cases had died with preexisting illnesses.

The two sides agreed to continue to strengthen technical exchanges and cooperation on epidemic prevention and control, and jointly safeguard global health security.

Global Times