SWITZERLAND — – The World Health Organization’s agency has welcomed new information about China’s COVID-19 situation after Beijing released new data showing a significant increase in COVID-19-related deaths.

Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke with Ma Xiaowei, director of China’s National Health Commission, about the wave of infections that erupted after the country abruptly abandoned its anti-virus regime last month.

“WHO appreciates this meeting, as well as the public release of information on the overall situation,” the Geneva-based agency said in a statement.

Earlier on Saturday China said nearly 60,000 people with COVID-19 had died in hospital since it abandoned its zero-COVID policy in early December, a big jump from previously reported figures. The release follows global criticism of China’s data.

“WHO is analyzing this information, which covers early December 2022 to 12 January 2023, and allows for a better understanding of the epidemiological situation and the impact of this wave in China,” the U.N. agency said.

The WHO said the epidemiology of the latest outbreak, with a rapid and intense wave of infections caused by types of the Omicron variant – which particularly affected older people or those with underlying conditions – was similar to what had been seen in other countries.

While the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has earlier reported that Omicron sublineages BA.5.2 and BF.7 are circulating, WHO said it continues to ask that further sequences be shared with open-access databases for continued collaboration with technical groups working on virus evolution, clinical care, and beyond.

The UN health agency said it would continue to work with China, providing technical advice and support and analyzing the situation.

China has previously been accused of concealing the virus situation in the country. According to an AP investigation, the government delayed releasing genetic information about the virus for more than a week after decoding it, frustrating WHO officials.

The government also tightly controlled the dissemination of Chinese virus research, making collaboration with international scientists difficult.

Research into the virus’s origins has also been hindered. In a report this year, a WHO expert group stated that “key pieces of data” on how the pandemic began were missing and called for a more thorough investigation.

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