China says WHO experts to probe Covid-19 origins during long-awaited mission
Ten World Health Organization scientists will visit China from Thursday to probe the origins of Covid-19, authorities said, more than a year after the pandemic began and amid accusations Beijing delayed the investigation.
The WHO team “will conduct joint research cooperation on the origins of Covid-19 with Chinese scientists,” the National Health Commission said in a statement.
The long-awaited mission - which has been under discussion since last year - is of great political significance at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has devastated major countries worldwide, caused almost two million deaths and brought the global economy to a standstill.
A last-minute delay to the mission earlier this month earned China a rare rebuke from the head of the WHO.
The team of WHO experts will be expected to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival in China, and are expected to visit Wuhan - the city where a deadly virus cluster first emerged late last year - in the course of their trip.
The US and Australia have led international calls for an enquiry into the origins of the pandemic, putting China under significant pressure amid growing calls for accountability.
Beijing has faced international criticism over its lack of transparency during the initial outbreak, while domestically the government has praised its own handling of the outbreak and stifled any criticisms.
Beijing will welcome an international team of COVID-19 investigators due to travel to China in January, said the World Health Organization (WHO), which is leading the mission.
China has strongly opposed calls for an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, saying such calls are anti-China, but has been open to a WHO-led investigation.
However, it was unclear whether the WHO investigators will travel to the city of Wuhan where the virus was first detected, with discussions on the itinerary ongoing.
“WHO continues to contact China and to discuss the international team and the places they visit,” Babatunde Olowokure, the WHO’s regional emergencies director in the Western Pacific, told a news conference on Thursday.
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”Our understanding at this time is that China is welcoming the international team and their visit…This is anticipated, as far as we are aware, to happen in early January,” he said.
On Wednesday, a WHO member and diplomats told Reuters the mission was expected to go to China in the first week of January to investigate the origins of the virus.
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The United States, which has accused China of having hidden the outbreak’s extent, has called for a “transparent” WHO-led investigation and criticised its terms, which allowed Chinese scientists to do the first phase of preliminary research.
Chinese state media have suggested the virus existed abroad before it was discovered in Wuhan, citing its presence on imported frozen food packaging and scientific papers claiming it had been circulating in Europe last year.
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Olowokure said the exact timing of the trip would depend on “obtaining the results of some other tests that are being carried out initially”, without giving further details.
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Referring to the ongoing discussions with China over the trip, Olowokure said: “These are of course important for us, and to get an overall picture of how the investigation will go.”
More than 72.92 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,641,733 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
The World Health Organization in Europe warned Wednesday of a “further resurgence” of Covid-19 in early 2021, as it urged families to wear face masks during this year’s Christmas gatherings.
The UN health organisation said in a statement that while some “fragile progress” had been made, “Covid-19 transmission across the European region remains widespread and intense.”
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“There is a high risk of further resurgence in the first weeks and months of 2021, and we will need to work together if we are to succeed in preventing it,” WHO Europe said.
It urged the public “not (to) underestimate the importance of your decisions” and take extra precautions as many prepare to gather for the holidays.
If possible, the WHO said celebrations should be held outdoors and “participants should wear masks and maintain physical distancing.”
For indoor festivities, the WHO said limiting the number of guests and ensuring good ventilation were key to reducing the risk of infection.
“It may feel awkward to wear masks and practise physical distancing when around friends and family, but doing so contributes significantly to ensuring that everyone remains safe and healthy,” the health agency said.
The WHO’s European Region comprises 53 countries and includes Russia and several countries in Central Asia, a region that has registered more than 22 million cases of the new coronavirus and close to 500,000 deaths.
