Der Spiegel reports of a 21 January, 2020, telephone conversation between WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and President Xi Jingping of China are unfounded and untrue.
Dr Tedros and President Xi did not speak on 21 January and they have never spoken by telephone.
Such inaccurate reports distract and detract from WHO’s and the world’s efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic.
To note: China confirmed human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus on 20 January.