Despite rising numbers in both coronavirus infections and fatalities, China has refused offers of assistance from two of the world’s foremost agencies on infectious disease, according to The New York Times. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been offering to send a team of experts from its Epidemic Intelligence Service for more than a month to no avail. And the World Health Organization has also met resistance to travel to Wuhan, where the outbreak started. Some top diplomats told the Times that they fear that China does not want to appear to be unable to handle the growing problem alone. The CDC said it hoped that by observing the medical conditions, it could improve an American response to any threat of a widespread outbreak in the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar told a news conference on Friday that it was out of his hands. “It’s up to the Chinese,” he said. “We continue to expect fully that President Xi will accept our offer. We're ready and willing and able to go.”
