The World Health Organization has proposed the second stage of study in China to the origin of Coronavirus, including a laboratory audit in Wuhan. Still, there has been no sign that Beijing will receive further international investigations, diplomats said.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, presented plans to member countries at a closed meeting on Friday, a day after saying that the investigation was hampered by a lack of raw data on the first days of spread in China.
The WHO-led team spent a total four weeks in and around downtown Wuhan with the Chinese researchers and said in a joint report issued in March said that the virus might be transmitted directly from the bats to the humans through and via other animals.
But countries, including the United States of America and some other scientists, demand further investigation, especially to the Virology Wuhan Institute who researched bats.
The planned call for further studies in China, but not in other countries, especially for laboratory audits around Wuhan, diplomats said.
China’s direct mission to the United Nations in Geneva did not respond to a comment request.
“We need information, direct information about this lab situation before and at the beginning of the pandemic. Then, if we get complete information, we can exclude it. One more challenge is, you know, the challenge of access and also transparency related to the hypothesis placed , “Tedro told reporters on Thursday.
China has called the theory that the virus may have escaped from the Wuhan “Absurd” laboratory and repeatedly said that the “politicization” problem would hamper investigations.
On the direction of regular news on Friday, when asked about Tedros’s comments, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that some data could not be copied or left China because it involved personal information.
It is not clear whether the WHO plan is a “wish list”, one diplomat to Reuters added, “This truly oppose what the Chinese have said for the past few months.”
The Chinese mission for the United Nations in Geneva stated on Thursday night that 48 developing countries have written to WHO calling for “global studies of tracing origin” to be guided by science and not by politics.
“However, for some time, a handful of countries, led by the US, have mensigating epidemics, placing geographical labels on viruses and politicizing origin of origin,” he said.
“Finding the origin of this virus is a scientific exercise that must be maintained free from politics. For that happen, we hope China supports the next phase of the scientific process by sharing all relevant data in the spirit of transparency,” Tedro said. ,
China has called the theory that the virus may have escaped from the Wuhan “Absurd” laboratory and repeatedly said that the “politicization” problem would hamper investigations.
On the direction of regular news on Friday, when asked about previous Tedros comments. About the need for more data from China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that some data could not be copied or left China because it involved personal information.