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The coronavirus outbreak exposed “deficiencies” in China’s public health system, a senior health official admitted on Saturday, saying reforms are underway to improve the country’s disease prevention and control mechanisms.
China has faced criticism both at home and abroad for minimizing the virus and hiding information about the outbreak when it first emerged in the central city of Wuhan in December.
Since then, the virus has infected nearly four million people worldwide, claiming more than 270,000 lives, and has paralyzed the global economy.
Coronavirus outbreak: full coverage
Beijing has insisted that it has always shared information with the World Health Organization and other countries in a timely manner.
But on Saturday, Li Bin, deputy director of the China National Health Commission, made a rare admission when he said the health system was not adequately prepared, which had left holes in China’s response.
“The new coronavirus outbreak was a major test that revealed that China still lacks its main epidemic prevention and control system, public health systems and other aspects of response (to an emergency),” Li told reporters on a press conference.
China’s health authority will build a “centralized, unified and efficient” leadership system that will allow it to respond more quickly and effectively to any future public health crisis, Li said.
Authorities also discussed how to “modernize” the disease control and prevention system through the use of big data, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and other technologies that will help predict outbreaks more accurately and improve preparedness, Li said.
The commission was also considering ways to review public health laws, strengthen international exchanges and “actively participate in global health governance,” Li added.
On Friday, Beijing said it would support a review led by the World Health Organization on the global response to the coronavirus outbreak, once the pandemic has ended.
The comments came after United States President Donald Trump increased criticism of China this week, saying the virus “may have stopped in China.”
Although it was the first epicenter of the pandemic, China has not reported any coronavirus-related deaths for 24 consecutive days, and the country is gradually reopening schools and urging workers to return to work.
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