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WUHAN, China (AP) – A World Health Organization team walked out of quarantine in the Chinese city of Wuhan on Thursday to begin fieldwork in a mission to investigate the origins of the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic.
The researchers, who had to self-isolate for 14 days after arriving in China, left their quarantine hotel with their luggage – including at least four yoga mats – in the middle of the afternoon and headed for another hotel.
The mission has become politically charged, as China seeks to avoid blame for alleged missteps in its rapid response to the outbreak. A major question is where the Chinese side will allow researchers to go and who they can talk to.
Yellow barriers blocked the entrance to the hotel, keeping the media at bay. Before the researchers boarded their bus, workers wearing protective gear and face shields could be seen loading their luggage, including two musical instruments and a dumbbell.
Hotel staff greeted the researchers, who wore masks. The bus driver was wearing a full white protective suit. They drove about 30 minutes to a lakeside Hilton hotel.
Former WHO official Keiji Fukuda, who is not part of the Wuhan team, warned of any expectation of breakthroughs, saying it could be years before firm conclusions can be drawn on the origin of the virus.
“It’s now well over a year that it all started,” he said earlier this month. “Much of the physical evidence will disappear. People’s memories are imprecise, and the physical layout of many places will likely be different from what it used to be. ”
Among the places they might visit are the Huanan Seafood Market, which was linked to many of the early cases, as well as research institutes and hospitals that treated patients during the height of the decade. ‘epidemic.
The WHO, which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, said on Twitter Thursday evening that its team was planning to visit hospitals, markets like the Huanan Seafood Market linked to many of the early cases, the Institute of Wuhan Virology and laboratories at facilities like Wuhan. Center for Disease Control.
“All the assumptions are on the table as the team follows the science in its work to understand the origins of the COVID19 virus,” the WHO tweeted. He said the team had previously requested “detailed underlying data” and planned to speak with first responders and some of the early COVID-19 patients.
“As members begin their field visits on Friday, they should be given the support, access and data they need,” the WHO tweeted. The first in-person meetings with Chinese scientists are expected to take place on Friday, before the team begins field visits to Wuhan and surrounding areas, he said.
Bats in caves in rural Yunnan Province, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) southwest of Wuhan, are a possible source of the virus.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said experts will have talks, visits and inspections in China to conduct virus research exchanges and cooperation. He did not provide any details.
The mission was only launched after considerable arguments between the two sides that led to a rare complaint from the WHO that China was taking too long to make final arrangements.
China, which strongly opposed an independent investigation it could not fully control, said the case was complicated and Chinese medical staff were concerned about new clusters of the virus in Beijing, Shanghai and other countries. ‘other cities.
While the WHO has been criticized early on, especially by the United States, for not being critical enough of China’s response, it has recently accused China and other countries of moving too slowly at the start of the decade. the epidemic, attracting a rare admission from the Chinese side that it could have been done better.
Overall, however, China strongly defended its response, perhaps out of concern over reputational or even financial costs if deemed insufficient.
Chinese officials and state media have also tried to cast doubt that the virus even started in China. Most experts believe it originated in bats, possibly in southwestern China or neighboring parts of Southeast Asia, before being passed to another animal and then to humans. .
The search for the origins will attempt to determine where and exactly how it happened.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki expressed concern on Wednesday about what she called “disinformation” coming from China, adding that the United States supports a strong international investigation.
“It is imperative to get to the bottom of the early days of the pandemic in China,” she said.
Zhao replied that any negative speculation and politicized interpretation of the mission is inappropriate.
“We hope that the United States can work with the Chinese side in a responsible manner, respect the facts and the science, and respect the hard work of the team of international experts to trace the origin of the virus,” he said. he said, “so that they can conduct research on testing for the virus without any political interference.”
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Associated Press photographer Ng Han Guan and AP writer Jamie Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.
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