COVID-19 has killed nearly 5.2 million people globally.
Washington:
The United States praised South Africa on Saturday for quickly identifying a new Covid strain called Omicron and sharing this information with the world – an undisguised slap to China’s handling of the outbreak. initial outbreak of the new coronavirus.
Foreign Minister Antony Blinken spoke with South Africa’s Minister for International Cooperation and Relations, Naledi Pandor, and they discussed cooperation in vaccinating people against Covid-19 in Africa, the ministry said. Diplomacy said.
“Minister Blinken particularly commended South African scientists for quickly identifying the Omicron variant and for the South African government’s transparency in sharing this information, which will serve as a model for the world.” the statement said.
First under Donald Trump and now under President Joe Biden, the United States has repeatedly criticized China for not finding the source of the coronavirus, which was first detected in December 2019 in the city of Wuhan. Han of China before spreading around the world. It has now killed nearly 5.2 million people.
In August of this year, the US intelligence community released a report in which they said they could not draw definite conclusions about the source of the virus – in animals or in research laboratories. Research are the top scenarios – as China didn’t help US Poll.
The US also accused Beijing of waiting too long before sharing vital information about the outbreak, and suggested that more transparent handling could help prevent the spread of the virus.
After the US report was released this summer, Biden accused Beijing of fraud.
“The world deserves answers, and I won’t rest until we get them,” Biden said in a statement after that unclassified report was released.
“States have a responsibility not to shirk these kinds of responsibilities to the rest of the world.”
The pandemic is one of the many causes of serious tension today in US-China relations, as the two great powers clash over trade, human rights, and the thorny issue of Taiwan, among other issues.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the feed provided.)
