Vanguard One
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- 62 countries back coronavirus probe
- Key government sources say China won't oppose probe
- Invitation for meeting with China goes unanswered
- Tuesday is D-Day for China trade ban threats
The demand for an “impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation” of the international health response to COVID-19 is expected to be the most controversial motion in a draft resolution written by the European Union, due to be put to the Assembly Monday morning AEST.
It tasks World Health Organisation director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus with launching the evaluation “at the earliest appropriate moment” to review the “lessons learned” from the deadly pandemic.
The Australian government does not expect China to oppose an inquiry into the origins of coronavirus on Tuesday, senior Morrison government sources said.
While they won’t know for certain until the motion is called, Australian government officials do not expect Beijing to oppose the motion which now has the overwhelming support of over 100 countries.
China isn’t impressed with Australia’s push for a coronavirus inquiry. Chinese President Xi Jinping. Picture: AFP
Australia was an early supporter of the draft resolution, which, in addition to having the support of the EU’s 27 member states, also has the backing of 35 other countries.
The inquiry motion does not mention the origins of the coronavirus, but does call on the “actions of WHO and their timelines pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic” to be among the issues examined.
It also does not set out a specific method for an inquiry, suggesting using “existing mechanisms” for review as an option.
The review would then make recommendations to “improve global pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacity”.
A medical worker takes a swab sample from a resident to be tested for the COVID-19 coronavirus, in a street in Wuhan, China. Picture: AFP
Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said there was “positive support” for an independent review into the pandemic to help the world “learn the lessons necessary to protect global health”.
“This is about collaborating to equip the international community to better prevent or counter the next pandemic and keep our citizens safe,” Ms Payne said.
“Australia and a significant number of countries are co-sponsoring the EU-led resolution, which includes a call for an impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation, to be presented at this week’s World Health Assembly meeting.”
The resolution also calls for global co-operation and collaboration to step up at “all levels” to “contain, control and mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Confirmed
4,695,231
Active
2,658,582
Recovered
1,722,434
Deaths
314,215
It specifically highlights a need to provide people with “reliable and comprehensive information” about the coronavirus and measures being taken by authorities in response to the pandemic.
With conspiracy theories and fake miracle cures for COVID-19 increasingly spreading online, the resolution asks countries to counter “malicious cyber activities” peddling this misinformation.
The EU motion recognises the critical role of “extensive immunisation” against COVID-19 as a “global public good for health” once a safe, effective and affordable vaccine is available.
The draft resolution is being proposed by a host of nations, including some of the most powerful, such as Russia and the UK, as well as Australia, Japan and South Korea.
Who’s on board
Albania, Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Mozambique, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, South Korea, Moldova, Russian Federation, San Marino, Sierra Leone, South Africa.
CHINESE CITY IN LOCKDOWN, OFFICIALS FEAR RESURGENCE
Officials concerned about a virus resurgence have quarantined 8000 people and reintroduced lockdown measures in northeastern China, even as other parts of the country further relax restrictions.
Residents of Jilin, the second-largest city in Jilin Province, have been mostly barred from leaving the city, state news media reported, after a cluster of infections was reported there and in Shulan, another city under its administration. Shenyang, capital of the neighbouring province of Liaoning, said on Saturday that anyone who had travelled there from the city of Jilin since April 22 would be quarantined in a hospital for three weeks, according to the New York Times.
Police officers clad in protective suits stand guard outside Jilin city's railway station in China's Jilin Province. Picture: AFP
Jilin has traced nearly 700 contacts of coronavirus patients for testing and quarantine, while officials in Liaoning Province have found more than 1000 contacts and about 6500 people at high risk for infection.
China reported five new confirmed infections on Saturday local time, three of them transmitted in Jilin Province and two from overseas.
The country has reported more than 89,000 total cases and 4634 deaths.
Zhong Nanshan, a respiratory disease expert and adviser to the Chinese government, told CNN on Saturday that although China faced a “big challenge” because most of the population was still susceptible to infection.
“It’s not better than the foreign countries I think at the moment,” he said.
The Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control said on Sunday that it was no longer necessary to wear masks outdoors.
The Chinese capital, which has reported no new infections for 30 days, is preparing for the annual session of the National People’s Congress, a major gathering that had been postponed for more than two months.
People wearing masks ride in Central Park as New Yorkers are straining to leave lockdown and get some sunshine and exercise. Picture: AFP
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/corona...y/news-story/d09e8b4ef61da22f34c258212f74adf6
