China scraps WHO’s plans for 2nd phase of Covid-19 origin study

The World Health Organization’s plan for a deeper probe into the origin of the coronavirus was recently rejected by the Chinese government as the possibility of the virus leaking from the Wuhan lab was a part of the proposal.

Vice Minister of the National Health Commission, Zeng Yixin, on the matter, expressed that they will not welcome an origins-tracing plan like it, to a certain degree, ignores common sense and science.

They hope that the WHO would seriously take into account the considerations and suggestions by Chinese experts and treat the origin tracing of the virus as a purely scientific matter without any political interference, he added.

Along with Chinese experts and other officials, Zeng also urged the WHO to expand their origin-tracing efforts beyond China to other countries.

Liang Wannian, the Chinese team leader, conveyed to the WHO joint expert team that they believe a lab leak is highly unlikely and is not necessary to invest more time and energy in this regard. However, Laing didn’t completely rule out the lab leak hypothesis, stating that if the evidence is required, other countries could investigate the possibility of the virus leak from their labs.

It is worth noting that earlier in May, U.S. President Joe Biden supported aides to gain intel on the Covid-19 origins, saying that U.S. intelligence agencies were pursuing theories potentially including the hypothesis of a lab accident in China.

With the first known cases found in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December of 2019, the virus was assumed to have transferred to humans from animals sold for food at a city market.

However, as the world continues to battle the pandemic, multiple theories have risen about the origin of the virus and remain open for debate among experts.

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https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/china-rejects-world-health-organizations-plan-for-study-of-covid-19-origin/articleshow/84628309.cms