The World Health Organization has made an official request to China to provide detailed information on an increase in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia among children in that country.
WHO said in a statement Wednesday that authorities from China's National Health Commission reported an increase in incidence of respiratory diseases at a press conference last week.
Chinese authorities attributed this increase to the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and the circulation of known pathogens such as influenza, mycoplasma pneumoniae (a common bacterial infection which typically affects younger children), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19).
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June 19, 2026 16:46 ET Major central banks continued to dominate the economic news flow this week too, led by the Federal Reserve, as they announced their latest policy decisions. The Federal Reserve policy session was in focus as it was the first to be led by the new chief Kevin Warsh. In Europe, central banks of the U.K. and Switzerland announced their rate decisions. In Asia, the Bank of Japan drew attention for its policy moves, while data out of China threw some light on the state of the economy.