Chinese President Xi Jinping supports the call for an investigation surrounding the management of the coronavirus pandemic. The president, however, highlighted that any investigation should wait until the virus is eradicated.
Speaking at the World Health Assembly on Monday, the president answered calls for an independent inquiry into the handling of the pandemic as raised by more than 100 countries. Xi maintained that his government has always been transparent about the novel coronavirus that was first detected in Wuhan in December 2019.
"All along we have acted with openness, transparency, and responsibility, we have provided information to the WO and relevant countries in the most timely fashion, we have released the genome sequence at the earliest possible time, we have shared control and treatment experiences with the world without reservation, we have done everything in our power to support and assist countries in need," Xi highlighted as he speaks during world leader's online meeting on Monday.
Xi said that his country is here to support the research and development of vaccines. At the same time, China will respond for calls of assistance for African nations and will even be cordial to the United States in keeping essential supplies flowing across the world.
The World Health Organization also answered calls and pledged to conduct an independent and impartial inquiry regarding the handling of the coronavirus outbreak. But, just like Xi's stance, the organization believed investigation needs to wait until the world has emerged out of pandemic. WHO said the investigation will follow steps and processes that were also done during inquiries after the Ebola outbreak, but, it will not happen in the meantime.
"The lessons learned will be essential to effectively address similar challenges, as they may arise in the future. But now is not the time. Now is the time for unity, for the international community to work together in solidarity to stop this virus and its shattering consequences," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said during the online conference.
More than 100 UN member states called for an evaluation of the WHO's effort to gather international response to COVID-19. In a resolution passed by the European Union, the assembly said investigation regarding "actions of WHO and their timelines pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic" should begin at the earliest appropriate moment.
Amidst all these, US President Donald Trump threatened to permanently pull funding out of the WHO. He said he is also considering US membership in the organization.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 has infected 4,805,005 people all over the world and killed 318, 534 people, according to a real data tracker from Johns Hopkins University.
