This archive report was first published on 4 July 2020.
Geneva, July 4, 2020 - The World Health Organization (WHO) has clarified its early response to the Covid-19 pandemic, revealing that it was its own office in China that first alerted it to the outbreak in Wuhan.
According to a new timeline published by the WHO, the organization's office in China notified its regional point of contact on December 31, 2019, about a case of 'viral pneumonia' after discovering a declaration on a Wuhan health commission website.
The same day, the WHO's epidemic information service picked up a news report from the international epidemiological surveillance network ProMed about the same group of cases of pneumonia from unknown causes in Wuhan.
After which, the WHO asked the Chinese authorities on two occasions, on January 1 and January 2, for information about these cases, which they provided on January 3.
The clarification comes as the WHO has been accused by US President Donald Trump of failing to provide the information needed to stem the pandemic and of being complacent towards Beijing, charges it denies.
WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference on April 20 that the first report had come from China, without specifying whether the report had been sent by Chinese authorities or another source.
