Top US diplomat says China's lack of transparency made pandemic worse
WASHINGTON China's failure to provide access to global health experts made the Covid-19 pandemic worse than it had to be, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday, and it was important to "get to the bottom" of the origin of the coronavirus.
Mr Blinken's sharp words underscored criticism from other members of the Biden administration over Beijing's lack of transparency in the crucial early days of the pandemic.
China did not give access to international experts or share information in real time to provide transparency, Mr Blinken said in an interview with NBC.
As a result, the virus "got out of hand faster and with, I think, much more egregious results than it might otherwise", Mr Blinken said.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general, Mr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on March 30 that data was withheld from WHO investigators who went to China to research the origins of the pandemic.
The events highlight why there needs to be a stronger global health security system to ensure this does not happen again, Mr Blinken said.
Reforms must include a commitment to transparency, information sharing and access for experts "and China has to play a part in that", he said.
He added that it was important to reach a more conclusive accounting of how the pandemic began.
"We need to do that precisely so we fully understand what happened, in order to have the best shot possible preventing it from happening again," he said. "That is why we need to get to the bottom of this." - REUTERS
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