In the call, Tedros said the UN agency appreciated the authorities’ public release of information on the overall situation, saying it allowed for a better understanding of the epidemiological situation and the impact of this wave in China.
He also noted efforts by Chinese authorities to scale up clinical care at all levels for its population.
The NHC said Beijing and the WHO had engaged in “technical communication” a few times since the end of zero-Covid, but did not give details of those exchanges.
It is the second time in a week that the WHO has asked for more data about the Covid-19 surge in China.
On Monday, Beijing authorities reported that the death toll remained at 5,272 and the number of confirmed cases was 118,147 – despite some provinces such as Zhejiang saying a million people were being infected per day in late December.
Two days later, WHO executive director for health emergencies Mike Ryan accused Beijing of heavily under-reporting the number of deaths from Covid-19.
A number of countries including the United States and Japan have also expressed concerns about China’s lack of transparency in sharing information about the surge and set entry requirements for Chinese travellers.
Tedros said earlier this month that the travel restrictions were understandable “with circulation in China so high and comprehensive data not forthcoming”.
But Wang Huiyao, president of the Centre for China and Globalisation, a Beijing-based think tank, said China was being transparent and its data indicated the outbreak was “under control”.
He said the numbers would also help guide other countries to lift the restrictions on Chinese travellers.
“The [death] number in the past month or so is not small. However, it shows that in general, the situation in China is still controllable, and infections in the big cities have peaked,” Wang said.
“I believe that China’s move will win international recognition and respect.”
02:06
Medics work while hooked up to IV drips during Covid-19 surge in China
Other health experts said there were still questions about whether the death toll released by Beijing reflected the situation on the ground.
Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, was quoted by a Reuters report as saying doctors were discouraged from reporting Covid-related deaths and the numbers reported included only deaths in hospitals.
A report on the Chinese science website Zhishi Fenzi, or The Intellectual, also said some rural regions were under-reporting cases and it was unclear to what extent Covid-19 was the cause of death in these areas.
