However, the WHO has said gaps in data might be due to Chinese authorities simply struggling to tally cases. Some estimates predict large numbers of deaths ahead and China has been racing to bolster its health system. Lawrence Gostin, a law professor at Georgetown University who follows the WHO closely, called the missing data "highly suspicious". "It's hard to criticise China when there's other countries that haven't reported COVID cases (at all)," he said. "I wouldn't like to say that China is actively not telling us what's going on.

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