Amid attack from Trump, WHO praises China for handling coronavirus pandemic

The World Health Organisation has praised China for handling the coronavirus pandemic and said that the countries need to learn from Wuhan on how the epicentre of the virus was bringing the society back to normal, a day after US President Donald Trump likened the global health body to a public relations agency for Beijing.

Trump on Thursday said the WHO should be "ashamed" of itself, as he compared the UN's health organ to a public relations agency for China amidst the coronavirus pandemic after it originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

The Trump administration has launched a probe into the role of the WHO on coronavirus, and has temporarily suspended the US' financial assistance to it.

Many countries, including Germany, Britain and Australia, are blaming China for the spread of coronavirus, that has killed over 2,35,000 people globally, including 64,000 Americans, and has infected 3.3 million.

Noting that there are zero COVID-19 cases in Wuhan, Maria van Kerkhove, the technical lead for the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme at a virtual press briefing in Geneva, said, "that's very very welcome news to hear that there are no more severe cases, no more patients in Wuhan."
As one of the China-WHO joint experts, who visited China in February for a field study, van Kerkhove said, "China has worked very hard to bring the outbreak under control."
Van Kerkhove said she appreciated the "tireless efforts" of the people in Wuhan -- "not just the healthcare workers but the individuals who stayed in their homes, who adhered to the public health measures."