WHO arrives in China to investigate the origin of …

A little over a year after the first cases of Covid-19 were detected in Wuhan, A team of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) to investigate the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus he will arrive in China next Thursday. While there were other missions in February and July, this is the first to arrive with a team of experts from multiple countries, after months of delays and a tense last week over China’s clearance. to approve the visit which will last approximately six weeks.

Confirmation of the expert group’s visit was made public by China’s National Health Commission, announcing that they are expecting the WHO technicians for January 14 and that they will “cooperate” with local scientists as part of the investigation into the possible animal origin of SARS-CoV-2 and its transmission channels to humans.

The Commission does not specify the places to which the members of this “priority” mission for WHO and trained by scientists from various international organizations from the United States, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Denmark, Australia, Vietnam, Germany and Qatar.

While the main hypothesis to confirm the virus species jump occurred at a fresh produce and animal market in Wuhan, the Chinese press has insisted in recent months with another hypothesis: the epidemic could be due to frozen food from other countries. Along with this alternate version, China began to indicate that it is responsible for helping the WHO conduct the investigations, as it was “the first country to detect it”, but not necessarily the source.

The origin of Covid-19

“The search for the origin of the coronavirus will probably involve several countries with better knowledge of the virus. WHO will need to conduct similar research in other countries and regions. “Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at the daily press conference before the technical team arrived.

The alternative hypothesis has been supported by official media such as The State Global Times, where statements by a respiratory disease expert have been published, reinforcing the idea that the WHO team “will likely visit in other countries where the coronavirus has appeared before. in China “.

In addition to raising an alternative hypothesis and pushing for the WHO investigation to not only focus on the idea that the virus has skipped cash in the Wuhan market, The WHO last week maintained crosses with the government of the Asian giant for the permits of the expert team.

A mission with underlying tensions

The arrival of the WHO team in China sparked controversy last week after WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he was “very disappointed” by the obstacles that Beijing was putting on a mission, although the Chinese authorities have denied having obstructed.

Several members of the team had started their trips to China in the first days of the year, but Tedros regretted that Beijing had not “finalized the necessary permits” for their access to the Asian country. Scientists who were unable to access China were forced to return to their home countries until the situation was resolved.

However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry called the situation a “misunderstanding” by assuring last week that “there has never been a problem of cooperation” with the WHO and that the organization knew “full well” that ‘it was not just “a problem”. visa, “to which he added that the two sides were still preparing for the visit and negotiating the dates.

This unforeseen event added new doubts to those already existing about the transparency of the Chinese authorities regarding the virus, as well as the delay of the mission, given that more than a year has passed since its emergency in Wuhan.