China’s COVID spike not due to lifting of restrictions, WHO director says
EMMA FARGE COVID-19 infections were exploding in China well before the government's decision to abandon its strict "zero-COVID" policy, a World Health Organization director said, quashing suggestions that the sudden reversal caused a spike in cases. The comments by the WHO's emergencies director Mike Ryan came as he warned of the need to ramp up vaccinations in the world's No. 2 economy. Speaking at a briefing with media, he said the virus was spreading "intensively" in the nation long before the lifting of restrictions. "There's a narrative at the moment that China lifted the restrictions and all of a sudden the disease…