China takes an open and responsible approach to the spread of the coronavirus 2019-nCoV and quickly shares all the data, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.

Some media have expressed doubts that the Chinese authorities provide accurate statistics on the number of victims and infected, she said adding that senior WHO expert, John Mackenzie, accused Beijing of not reporting new cases in Wuhan at the beginning of the outbreak.

According to her, WHO Director-General recently reiterated the hope that all parties would not believe the rumors and spread them.

“Since the onset of the outbreak, the Chinese government, putting people’s health as the top priority, has taken the most comprehensive and strict prevention and control measures, many of which far exceed IHR requirements. It has been lauded by WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros as setting a new standard for outbreak response. The WHO also reiterated that there is no ground for unnecessary travel restrictions and called on the international community to reject rumors and believe in science,” she said. 

She added that relevant government departments of some countries do their best to hold accountable those who fabricate and spread rumors.

Chunying said the Chinese state health committee and the Wuhan city health committee conduct briefings on a daily basis and provide all relevant information.

“China will continue to share information and strengthen cooperation with other countries in an open, transparent and highly responsible manner to safeguard the life and health of the Chinese people and contribute to regional and global public health security,” she said.

Chinese authorities reported late December on the outbreak of pneumonia in the densely populated city of Wuhan, Hubei Province. The causative agent of the disease was a new type of coronavirus - 2019-nCoV.

According to the latest data, the number of cases worldwide exceeded 28 thousand patients, 563 people died.