Li Keqiang presided over a meeting called by Xinhua News Agency to speed the resumption of work and production while keeping prevention and control effective. At this gathering, authorities were given instructions to prevent imported infections or COVID-19 rebound at home in accordance with changes in epidemic situation.
An NHC spokesperson commented that China has effectively shared epidemic information and experience regarding 2019-nCoV genome sequencing in an open, transparent, and responsible manner, while providing assistance to other nations.
COVID-19
COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus, meaning that no one knows if or when this strain of coronavirus caused human illnesses before. The virus likely originated in animals like birds, pigs or bats before evolving to become harmful for human beings.
At first, the virus that first emerged in Wuhan was believed to have spread from birds to people through one of its open-air “wet markets,” which sell fresh produce and meat without as strict regulatory oversight as supermarkets.
China was asked by WHO to provide more detailed data regarding its spread; however, China failed to do so, according to WHO officials who told the AP that China was hindering their efforts in various ways.
How is COVID-19 Sequenced?
COVID-19 tracking uses next-generation sequencing, which produces millions of sequence reads simultaneously and allows researchers to analyze an organism’s nucleic acid sequence in its entirety.
Rapid detection and tracking of viral mutations is critical to maintaining public health response capabilities during epidemics, yet a considerable disparity exists in global sequencing capacity between high-income countries and low-income ones.
Recent analyses reported that high-income countries submitted 12 times more sequence data to public repositories than low-income ones (Supplementary Figures 1 and 2). This difference may be attributable to other factors, such as availability of reference sequencing laboratories and varied norms regarding sharing public data.
Analysis reveals that sequencing rates vary across countries. Iceland, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand and the UK sequenced over 10% of confirmed cases; most African nations sequenced less than 2.5%; however The Gambia and Djibouti did sequence over 2.5% of confirmed cases.
What is the Process for Sequencing COVID-19?
Next-generation sequencing allows scientists to map an invading pathogen’s genetic code by reading its chemical letters within DNA or RNA molecules, deciphering its DNA or RNA code and uncovering details such as when and how fast an outbreak began. Sequence data can reveal key information like where and when outbreaks begin while also tracking how fast viruses spread between people.
Scientists worldwide were in a mad dash to decode a full genome sequence for this new coronavirus, with sequence data quickly shared via GISAID website. By the time that Chinese lab decoded its genome on Jan 2, its spread had already tripled, according to retrospective infection data.
As Caixin reported in its Feb 2021 article, Chinese officials quickly responded to news of the new coronavirus by imposing stringent rules on labs that handle potentially hazardous viruses, such as forcing labs to destroy specimens or send them off for safekeeping at designated institutes, Caixin reported in its article. These restrictions, combined with competitive public health institutions in China, made identifying and reporting infections more challenging according to interviews and documents.
What is the Final Sequence of COVID-19?
An outbreak can be tracked using the sequence of a virus, but this process takes time, care and accurate comparison with other sequences – in COVID-19’s case scientists were racing against time to present their results to global health authorities.
WHO emergency committee experts lauded Chinese researchers’ speed in deciphering the virus, but details about its spread came gradually due to Beijing’s controls over data and competition among labs preventing timely disclosure. Furthermore, due to lack of patient data it took time for recognition that the disease was spreading and development of tests, drugs, or vaccines to take effect.
On Jan. 8, The Wall Street Journal published an expose revealing China had kept genetic maps and virus codes secret for weeks after three government laboratories decoded them, embarrassing WHO officials and delaying announcement of pandemic.
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