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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
Asharq Al-Awsat

China's COVID Spike Not Due to Lifting of Restrictions, Says WHO Director

WHO China Mike Ryan World Health Organization Disease
People stand by a river, after the government eased curbs on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) control, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China December 10, 2022. (Reuters)

COVID-19 infections were exploding in China well before the government's decision to abandon its strict "zero-COVID" policy, a World Health Organization director said on Wednesday, quashing suggestions that the sudden reversal caused a spike in cases. 

The comments by the WHO's emergencies director Mike Ryan came as he warned of the need to ramp up vaccinations in the world's No. 2 economy. 

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