WHO expects China to share genetic sequences from resurgence of Covid

The emergencies chief of the World Health Organization said he fully expects China to share the genetic sequences from the resurgence of coronavirus that has recently hit Beijing, even though they have not yet done so. Chinese officials said that their examination of the virus shows it originated in Europe, but they have not yet shared the sequences with WHO or the global scientific community. “We fully expect our colleagues in China will share that information”, said Dr. Michael Ryan at a press briefing on Monday. Ryan told AP that the finding that this virus genome may represent a strain commonly transmitting in Europe is significant but that verifying the hypothesis requires the sequences to be shared.

Global cases surpassed 8 million, while over 4.36 people have succumbed to the infection. While European borders reopened, China is scrambling to control the spread of a fresh outbreak of coronavirus in Beijing, amid fears of a second wave of the infection in the country. Reopening continued in Mexico and Brazil despite cases climbing in the two largest nations in Latin America. And New Zealand, which had eased the curbs, reported its first new cases since May 22.

A Lancet research has found that one in five people worldwide have an underlying health condition that puts them at risk for severe Covid-19 illness if they contract the virus. An estimated 1.7 billion people suffer from conditions ranging from type 2 diabetes to heart disease, according to a study published in The Lancet Global Health. About 349 million of them would probably need to go to the hospital for treatment if they were infected.

Indian express