On January 17, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin presided over a regular press conference.
A reporter asked a question. It is understood that at a regular press conference held by the WHO Secretariat recently, some reporters questioned the WHO. China did not find a new mutant strain, but European countries have adopted restrictive measures against Chinese tourists. The United States found that XBB.1.5 mutant strain, but other countries have not taken measures against it.
What is China's comment?
Wang Wenbin said that since the outbreak of the epidemic, China has always shared relevant information and data with the international community in accordance with the principles of law, timeliness, openness and transparency.
China continues to share the genetic sequences of China's new coronavirus infection cases with the World Health Organization and the Global Influenza Sharing Database (GISAID), making important contributions to global vaccine and drug research and development.
According to the analysis of the WHO, the current mainstream strain in China is consistent with the gene sequence of the virus infected with passengers in China submitted by other countries, and no new variant virus or significant mutation has been found.
The Director of the European Region of the WHO recently publicly stated that the virus strain currently prevalent in China has already appeared in Europe and other regions, and the epidemic in China will not have a major impact on the current epidemic situation in Europe.
If European countries take preventive measures against passengers, the measures should be scientific, proportionate and non-discriminatory.
Several international technical agencies such as the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control also stated that the epidemic in China will not have a significant impact on other countries.
Wang Wenbin pointed out that since the outbreak of the epidemic three years ago, almost all new coronavirus variants and their branches have been prevalent in the United States, and it is one of the countries with the most new coronavirus variants.
According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the current new variant strain XBB.1.5 is spreading rapidly in the United States and has become the number one strain in the United States, causing more than 43% of the infection cases in the United States.
In response to the recent rapid spread of XBB.1.5, the World Health Organization released its first risk assessment on the 11th, saying that XBB has become the most resistant mutant strain to antibodies so far, and its stronger early transmission ability and immune escape ability may cause a large number of infections. scale infection.
Currently, XBB.1.5 has been detected in at least 40 countries and regions.
The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued an assessment that XBB.1.5 will become the mainstream mutant strain in Europe as soon as one month later.
The United States should promptly, openly, transparently and fully share its epidemic information and data with the WHO and the international community, and take effective measures to prevent the further spread of the epidemic.
(making Yueziyan)
Responsible editor: [Li Ji]