Coronavirus cases pass two million globally
The world’s battle to contain the spread of coronavirus has been hit by another unwanted milestone, with global cases last night soaring past two million.
The figure was passed as Donald Trump withdrew more than £700 million in US funding from the World Health Organisation (Who) over what the us president said was the United Nations agency’s “China-centric” approach.
The UK quickly distanced itself from Mr Trump’s attack, which drew global condemnation.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said: “Our position is that the UK has no plans to stop funding the WHO.”
Downing Street has distanced itself from Donald Trump’s attack on the World Health Organisation (WHO) over its handling of the coronavirus crisis, even as suspicion grows within the UK about China’s actions in the early days of the outbreak.
There was global condemnation of the US President after he withdrew around $900 million of funding for the UN agency leading the fight against the pandemic over what he said was its “Chinacentric” approach, and a failure to properly investigate the origins of the outbreak in the city of Wuhan.
Asked about Mr Trump’s decision, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said: “Our position is that the UK has no plans to stop funding the WHO, which has an important role to play in leading the global health response.
“Coronavirus is a global challenge and it’s essential that countries work together to tackle this shared threat.”
But speaking to the BBC, the former Chancellor Sajid Javid said that while it was “not the time” to point fingers over the outbreak, the global community was “going to have to look carefully into... was China providing the right information to us, and to the WHO, and to others”.
“China, for example, didn’t even admit to human-tohuman transmission until some time in January, which was very late in the day,” Mr Javid said. “I think it’s a legitimate question to ask, what they knew, when, and how that could have made a difference.”
And Sir John Sawers, the former head of MI6 who also served as UK representative to the UN, said there was “deep anger in America at what they see as having been inflicted on us all by China”.
Mr Sawers told the BBC: “China is evading a good deal of responsibility for the origin of the virus, for failing to deal with it initially. At the same time we can’t find a way out of this without working with China.
“So it’s going to be a complex setofissueswe’regoingtohave to work with, and the world will not be the same after the virus as it was before.”
In a press conference on Tuesday night, Mr Trump claimed the outbreak could have been contained at its source and that lives could have been saved if the UN health agency had done a better job investigating early reports coming out of China.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the 27-nation EU “deeply” regrets the suspension of funds and added that the WHO is “needed more than ever” to combat the pandemic.
He called for measures to promote unity instead of division, and said: “Only by joining forces can we overcome this crisis that knows no borders.”
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said the country is “seriously concerned” about the US decision, telling reporters: “As the most authoritative and professional international institution in the field of global public health security, the WHO plays an irreplaceable role in responding to the global public health crisis.”
Spokesman Zhao Lijian said the US move will “weaken the WHO’S capabilities and undermine international co-operation in fighting the epidemic”.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres responded to Mr Trump’s announcement by saying now is not the time to end support, calling the WHO “absolutely critical” to the global effort to combat Covid-19.
Mr Guterres said the appropriate time for a review is “once we have finally turned the page on this pandemic”.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he regrets the US decision, adding that Washington has been “a longstanding and generous friend to WHO and we hope it will continue to be so”.
He added: “Covid-19 does not discriminate between rich nations and poor, large nations and small. This is a time for all of us to be united in our common struggle against a common threat, a dangerous enemy. When we’re divided, the virus exploits the cracks between us.”
German foreign minister Heiko Maas said: “Placing blame doesn’t help. Strengthening the UN, in particular the underfunded WHO, is a better investment, for example to develop and distribute tests and vaccines.”
They all spoke out after Mr Trump said: “The WHO failed in its basic duty and must be held accountable.”
The US contributed the equivalent of £720m to the WHO’S budget for 2018-19, according to the agency’s website. That represents a fifth of its total budget for those years.
Washington gave nearly three-quarters of the funds in “specified voluntary contributions”andtherestin“assessed” funding as part of the commitment to UN institutions.
Last week, Mr Trump blasted the WHO for being “China-centric” and alleging that it had “criticised” his ban on travel from China as the Covid-19 outbreak was spreading from the city of Wuhan.
But he showed deference to China at the beginning stages of the outbreak. “China has been working very hard to contain the coronavirus,” he tweeted on 24 January.
“The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!”