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| World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Reuters |
By Jung Min-ho
A petition demanding the immediate resignation of World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic has gathered more than 1 million signatures.
The petition, initiated by a person using the ID "Osuka Yip" on Jan. 31, blames Tedros' poor leadership for the wide spread of COVID-19, which has killed more than 200,000 people and infected nearly 3 million around the world.
How and when exactly the virus infected the first person, most likely by making a jump from a wild animal, in the Chinese city of Wuhan is still unclear. But when the threat was brought to the attention of Chinese authorities in December and then of the world, Tedros hesitated to declare a global health emergency ― until Jan. 31.
His belated decision has drawn criticism, particularly from U.S. politicians. President Donald Trump accused the WHO of failing its basic duty and suspended the U.S. contribution on April 15 (KST). Two days later, 17 of fellow Republicans on the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee backed the decision, saying they had also lost faith in Tedros.
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