Berita 24 English - The US urged the World Health Organization to conduct the second phase of its investigation into the coronavirus's ...
Berita 24 English - The US urged the World Health Organization to conduct the second phase of its investigation into the coronavirus's origins, with independent experts given complete access to original data and samples in China.
A WHO-led team that spent four weeks in and around Wuhan in January and February collaborating with Chinese researchers concluded in a March report that the virus was likely transmitted from bats to humans via another animal, and that "introduction via a laboratory incident was considered an extremely improbable pathway."
US Vice President Joe Biden directed aides to investigate the origins of the virus that causes COVID-19, stating that US intelligence agencies are pursuing competing theories on Wednesday, which could include a laboratory accident in China.
The initial WHO investigation was "inadequate and inconclusive," the US mission to the United Nations in Geneva said in a statement on Thursday, calling for a prompt, transparent, and evidence-based second investigation, including in China.
"China must provide complete, original data and samples necessary for understanding the source of the virus and the early stages of the pandemic to independent experts," the US statement stated.
China expressed support for "a comprehensive study of all early cases of COVID-19 discovered worldwide and a thorough investigation into some secretive bases and biological laboratories located throughout the world" on Thursday through remarks made by a representative at its US embassy.
In a separate statement, Britain's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Simon Manley, stated: "Phase one of the WHO-convened COVID-19 origins studies was always intended to be the beginning, not the end. We demand a transparent, timely, evidence-based, and expert-led phase two study, including in the People's Republic of China, as recommended in the experts' report.”
Mike Ryan, WHO's top emergency expert, told the organization's annual meeting of health ministers on Wednesday: "We've had informal consultations with some member states regarding the next phase." And those discussions will continue in the coming weeks."
