Because of the extremely contagious characteristics of the omicron version, the World Health Organization’s chief stated China’s harsh approach to restricting the coronavirus is unsustainable, but it is up to each country to determine what strategy to adopt.

Following similar statements last week, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus criticized China’s “zero-COVID” goal as “not sustainable” during a press conference on Tuesday.

“We know the virus better and we have better tools, including vaccines, so that’s why the handling of the virus should be different from what we used to do at the start of the pandemic,” Tedros said. He added that the virus had changed significantly since it was first identified in Wuhan in late 2019 when China largely stopped its spread with lockdowns.

Tedros said the WHO had repeatedly advised Chinese officials about their recommended COVID containment strategies, but that “regarding their choice of policies, it is up to every country to make that choice.”

In Shanghai, where some people have been under lockdown for six weeks, the relentless and sometimes haphazard application of zero-COVID has sparked widespread dissatisfaction and food shortages.

Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO’s director of emergencies, acknowledged that China had lately faced a tough situation with COVID-19 and praised authorities for minimizing the number of deaths to a bare minimum.

“We understand why the initial response of China was to try and suppress infections to the maximum level (but) that strategy is not sustainable and other elements of the strategic response need to be amplified,” he said

Ryan went on to say that vaccination efforts should continue and that “a suppression-only strategy is not a viable option for any country to exit the epidemic.”

Tedros also stated that the WHO is attempting to persuade North Korea and Eritrea to begin immunization against COVID-19.