BEIJING - France and Britain on Saturday joined a growing list of nations imposing Covid tests on travelers from China, and the World Health Organization pressed Beijing to be more forthcoming on real-time data amid an explosion of cases there. Spain, South Korea and Israel also said they would require proof of a negative test for travelers leaving China. Despite its hospitals and morgues being overwhelmed -- and international concern over the low official figures on infections and deaths there -- China insisted Friday that it had been transparent in sharing its Covid-19 data. Earlier this week, a senior US health official said Beijing had provided only limited data to global databases about variants circulating in China, and its testing and reporting on new cases had diminished. The Geneva-based World Health Organization summoned Chinese officials and “asked for regular sharing of specific and real-time data on the epidemiological situation,” the agency said in a statement. “WHO stressed the importance of monitoring and the timely publication of data to help China and the global community... to inform effective responses,” it said. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin refuted suggestions that the country had not been forthcoming on data: “Since the outbreak of the epidemic, China has been sharing relevant information and data with the international community, including WHO, in an open and transparent manner. “We shared the sequence of the new coronavirus at the first instance, thus making important contributions to the development of relevant vaccines (and) drugs in other countries.” A national disease control body in China said there were about 5,500 new local cases and one death Friday but, with the end of mass testing and the narrowing of criteria for what counts as a Covid fatality, those numbers are no longer believed to reflect reality. Britain, France, Spain, South Korea and Israel have joined Italy, Japan, India, Malaysia, Taiwan and the United States in requiring negative Covid tests for all travellers from mainland China, in a bid to avoid importing new virus variants. In Britain’s case, the requirement comes into effect from January 5. Switzerland however said it would keep its borders open for arrivals from China.
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