<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>The World Health Organization criticised China's "very narrow" definition of Covid deaths on Wednesday, warning that official statistics were not showing the true impact of the outbreak.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>There is growing concern over China's steep rise in Covid infections since Beijing last month abruptly lifted years of hardline restrictions, with hospitals and crematoriums quickly overwhelmed.</div><div><br></div><div>"We still do not have complete data," WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told reporters.</div><div><br></div><div>"We believe that the current numbers being published from China under-represent the true impact of the disease in terms of hospital admissions, in terms of ICU admissions, and particularly in terms of deaths."</div><div><br></div><div>China has only recorded 22 Covid deaths since December and has dramatically narrowed the criteria for classifying such fatalities -- meaning that Beijing's own statistics about the unprecedented wave are now widely seen as not reflecting reality.</div><div><br></div><div>Ryan pointed out that the definition Beijing is using "requires a respiratory failure" associated with a Covid infection for a fatality to be registered as a Covid death.</div><div><br></div><div>"That is a very narrow definition," he said.</div><div><br></div><div>- Testing travellers 'understandable' -</div><div><br></div><div>EU countries have also echoed the WHO's concern that Chinese data on Covid infections was insufficient.</div><div><br></div><div>As countries grapple with the best response to the surge in cases, a crisis meeting of European Union experts said Wednesday that EU countries were "strongly encouraged" to demand Covid tests from passengers coming from China.</div><div><br></div><div>The meeting was held to coordinate a joint EU response to the sudden inflow of visitors as Beijing lifts its "zero-Covid" policy which had largely closed the country off to international travel.</div><div><br></div><div>The experts also recommended that passengers to and from China wear face masks, that EU countries conduct random tests on arrivals and test wastewater from flights from China, according to a statement issued by the Swedish presidency of the EU.</div><div><br></div><div>WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had earlier told reporters that the organisation's officials had held high-level talks in recent weeks with counterparts in China.</div><div><br></div><div>"We continue to ask China for more rapid, regular, reliable data on hospitalisation and deaths, as well as more comprehensive, real-time viral sequencing," Tedros said.</div><div><br></div><div>He reiterated that the UN health agency understood why some countries were introducing fresh Covid curbs on visitors from China.</div><div><br></div><div>"With circulation in China so high and comprehensive data not forthcoming... it is understandable that some countries are taking steps they believe will protect their own citizens," he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The United States -- which will require negative tests from most travellers from China starting Thursday -- praised the role of the WHO and said Washington's own precautions were due to the lack of transparency from Beijing.</div><div><br></div><div>The UN body is "in the best position to make an assessment" due to its contact with Chinese officials, State Department spokesman Ned Price said.</div><div><br></div><div>- 'Most transmissible' subvariant -</div><div><br></div><div>Outside of China, many experts have their attention on the US and Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, which has been detected in 29 countries so far.</div><div><br></div><div>Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's Covid-19 technical lead, said it was "the most transmissible subvariant that has been detected yet."</div><div><br></div><div>However there is no indication as yet that XBB.1.5 -- which has been spreading rapidly in the northeastern United States -- causes more severe disease than other types of Covid.</div><div><br></div><div>The upsurge in XBB.1.5 cases, Van Kerkhove said, underlined how important it was "to continue surveillance for Covid-19 around the world."</div><div><br></div><div>"There were more than 13 million Covid cases reported to the WHO last month alone, she said, "and we know that that's an underestimate because surveillance has declined."</div><div><br></div><div>There were also 15 percent more Covid deaths globally last month than the month before, she said.</div><div><br></div><div>"Every week, approximately 10,000 people die of Covid-19, that we are aware of," Tedros said. "The true toll is likely much higher." - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>