The WHO has praised the country’s response, but the heavy-handed approach could make things worse When the World Health Organization declared the 2019nCoV coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency, it effusively praised China’s response to the outbreak. The WHO issued a statement welcoming the government’s “commitment to transparency”, and WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted “China is actually setting a new standard for outbreak response.” The WHO is ignoring Chinese government suppression of human rights regarding the outbreak, including the severe restrictions on freedom of expression in China. In turn, Chinese state media is citing the WHO to defend its policies and try and silence criticism of its response to the outbreak which has included rights violations that could make the situation worse. Continue reading...