WHO urges collaboration to investigate coronavirus origin

Geneva, Jul 23 (EFE).- The World Health Organization urged Friday all countries to work together to investigate the origins of the Covid-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus after China refused plans for a follow up investigation in Chinese labs and territories.

“This is not about politics, it’s not about a blame game,” WHO spokesman Tarki Jasarevic told a news conference in Geneva.

“It is about basically a requirement we all have to try to understand how the pathogen came into the human population. In this sense, countries really have the responsibility to work together and to work with WHO in a spirit of partnership,” he added.

Last week, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on China to be transparent and provide the raw data on the early days of the pandemic, a request the Beijing government called “arrogant” and “lacking in common sense”.

After spending four weeks in Wuhan with Chinese scientists, WHO experts said in March the virus had most likely been transmitted from bats to humans through another animal.

But due to a lack of raw data, the WHO called for a follow up investigation, to which Chinese diplomats immediately signaled opposition to.

Today, all hypotheses are on the table, the spokesman said, including that the virus was unintentionally leaked from a lab in Wuhan. EFE

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