JAKARTA - The World Health Organization (WHO) has not received data from China about the new COVID-19 hospitalization since Beijing lifted its zero-COVID policy, prompting some health experts to question whether it is possible to hide information about its outbreak rate.
However, the WHO says the gap in the data may be caused by Chinese authorities, who are struggling to count cases.
WHO Emergency Chief Mike Ryan has pointed out a possible capacity issue.
"I don't want to say that China is actively not telling us what is going on. I think they are behind the curve," he explained.
The WHO weekly report showed increased hospitalizations for COVID-19 in China ahead of Beijing's decision on December 7, to ease movement restrictions intended to eradicate virus transmission, but sparked extraordinary public protests and made the world's second-largest economy tenuous.
The data peaked on December 28,859 to 4, according to a WHO chart, the highest number reported in China since COVID-19 first appeared three years ago, but that figure is not present in the last two reports.
WHO spokesman Margaret Harris said to direct questions about data reporting to the country concerned. China's diplomatic mission in Geneva did not respond to a Reuters question.
China is routinely seen as downplaying the COVID outbreak and some experts say its narrow criteria for identifying deaths would underestimate the true number. Some estimates predict large numbers of deaths in the future and China has been racing to improve its health system.
Lawrence Gostin, a professor of law at Universitas Milik yang mengikuti WHO dengan cermat, menyebut data yang hilang itu "sangat mestikan".
"What I know is that China is hiding important data to understand the full impact of its decision to end its zero-COVID strategy," he said.
Meanwhile, Adam Kamradt-Scott, professor of Global Public Health at the European University Institute, said countries often try to hide the rate of disease outbreaks.
"It is difficult to criticize China when there are other countries that have not reported cases of COVID (at all)," he said.
It is known that global rules on disease outbreaks require the state to communicate information about the ongoing outbreak but cannot be enforced.
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