Govt defends virus response

International effort: Health workers directing members of the WHO team on their arrival in Wuhan earlier this month. — AP

BEIJING: China has defended its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, saying it will continue to communicate and cooperate with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in curbing the virus.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remark on Tuesday after an independent panel for pandemic preparedness and response said China could have applied public health measures more forcefully in January 2020 to curb the initial Covid-19 outbreak, and criticised WHO for not declaring an international emergency until Jan 30 that same year.