China deliberately delayed crucial Covid-19 information at the start of the virus outbreak, The Associated Press (AP) reported, citing internal World Health Organisation (WHO) documents and records of meetings.

"Tight controls" meant info was not swiftly released

AP reported that although three different government labs in China have decoded the genetic map of the virus, the country only released the information more than a week later.

The reason for the delay was due to "tight controls on information and competition within the Chinese public health system", according to WHO internal documents and interviews conducted with the health body's officials.

It was only after another lab published the information on a virologist website on Jan. 11 that the Chinese government released the genome.

But they waited for at least two more weeks in providing detailed data on the cases to the WHO, AP reported, citing recordings of internal meetings throughout January.

WHO praised China as they wanted to coax more info out from the govt

In addition, AP said the internal recordings suggested that WHO officials were praising China publicly as they wanted to persuade the government to release more information.

But the officials were complaining among themselves in the week of Jan. 6 that the Chinese government was not sharing enough information for them to judge how fast the virus was spreading between people, or the risk it could present to other countries.

Gauden Galea, WHO's top official in China, said at a meeting that China was giving the organisation the information 15 minutes before it shows on national broadcaster CCTV.

WHO officials had also discussed how to go about asking China for more information without offending the authorities.

The delay in the release of information might have resulted in the loss of valuable time, which could have been used to help stall the spread of the virus to other countries, AP reported, notwithstanding individual governments' response.

U.S. accused WHO of colluding with China, but latest findings reveal different reality

United States President Donald Trump has accused the WHO of "colluding" with China to hide the extent of the outbreak -- a move that critics say were an attempt at shifting the attention away from his own failure in handling the crisis.

He also announced that the U.S. had terminated its relationship with the WHO, after threatening to withdraw funds from the health body.

But the latest revelation suggested that the WHO was, perhaps, caught between a rock and a hard place.

The United Nations agency has no enforcement powers over sovereign countries, and is dependent on the cooperation of member states.

China has repeatedly defended itself against accusations from Western countries, especially the U.S., that it had not been completely transparent with the release of Covid-19 information since it was first discovered.

Top image via NAOHIKO HATTA/POOL/GETTY IMAGES