World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhnom Ghebreyesus Saturday spoke with the Director of China’s National Health Commission Ma Xiaowei about the COVID-19 surge the country is currently facing.

During the meeting, Chinese officials provided information to WHO on the outbreak in China. The information included “outpatient clinics, hospitalizations, patients requiring emergency treatment and critical care, and hospital deaths related to COVID-19 infection.” WHO requested that this detailed information “continue to be shared with us and the public.” WHO also reiterated the importance of continued collaboration to ensure the successful containment of the virus. The parties also met in December 2022 and discussed the COVID-19 situation in China and assessed the progress of controlling the virus.

Last month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China announced an end to certain restrictions on international arrivals posed by the country’s “zero-COVID” policies that have been in place since 2020. These policies sparked protests in China, urging an end to the rigid restrictions.