Explained: Is China sharing enough Covid-19 pandemic information?

As Covid-19 rips through China, the World Health Organization is calling on its government to share more comprehensive data on the outbreak.

Without basic data like number of deaths, infections and severe cases, governments elsewhere have instituted virus testing requirements for travelers from China. The greatest concern is whether new variants will emerge from the mass infection and spread. 

What’s been shared and what’s not?

Health authorities publish a daily count of new, severe cases, and deaths, but those include only officially confirmed cases and use a very narrow definition of Covid-related deaths.

Since the pandemic began, China has shared 4,144 sequences with GISAID,