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Taiwan Releases Coronavirus Warning Email from December; Claims WHO Ignored It
Taiwan has released a December email asking about the person-to-person spread of COVID-19. The country claims the World Health Organization ignored it. Taiwan accused the organization of downplaying the severity and spread of the virus. They believe the organization is doing so “in an attempt to pander to China.”
The media asked Taiwan about the cases by the media. It stated that China's health authorities said, “The cases were believed not SARS; however samples are still under examination, and cases have been isolated for treatment,” Fox News reported. This is according to an email sent by Taiwan's Center for Disease Control and Prevention to the WHO on December 31st.
“I would greatly appreciate it if you have relevant information to share with us,” the email said.
WHO vs. Taiwan
Taiwan Says It Warned @WHO About Coronavirus In December, But Its Warnings Were Ignored.
WHO Weeks later:
“Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of” Coronavirus.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 21, 2020
The organization denied that Taiwan alerted them about the spread of the virus. According to Taiwan’s CDC, since they specifically mentioned “atypical pneumonia,” “public health professionals could discern from this wording that there was a real possibility of human-to-human transmission of the disease,” they said in a press release.
“However, because at the time there were as yet no cases of the disease in Taiwan, we could not state directly and conclusively that there had been human-to-human transmission,” Taiwan's CDC said.
According to Taiwan, both the WHO and the Chinese CDC refused to provide necessary information that could have sooner prepared the government for the impact of the virus. The WHO disregarded warnings from Taiwan. Instead, it kept reiterating China’s points that “no evidence of human-to-human transmission” existed, even as late as January 14th.
Due to the tension between Taiwan and the WHO, President Trump considered pulling funding from the U.N. agency. The president expects to reach a decision by the end of the week.
On the other hand, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has accused the U.S. of “politicizing” its handling of the virus. He claimed that doing so would result in “more body bags,” as reported by Fox News.
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