China yesterday faced mounting pressure over the investigation into the origins of COVID-19 after WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus revived a theory that it might have leaked from a Chinese laboratory and the US led concerns over access to data.
A report by WHO and Chinese experts released on Tuesday said that the lab-leak hypothesis was highly unlikely, as the virus behind COVID-19 had probably jumped from bats to humans via an intermediary animal.
China welcomed the report, seeing it as confirmation of its handling of the investigation following allegations it had tried to delay and then restrict it.
Photo: Reuters
The report also initially appeared to back China’s firm rejection of theories that the pandemic might have been triggered by a leak from a virology lab in Wuhan, the city in China’s Hubei Province where the virus was first detected.
However, Tedros on Tuesday reopened the lab-leak theory, as he raised concerns about the level of access China provided to the experts during their visit to Wuhan in January.
“In my discussions with the team, they expressed the difficulties they encountered in accessing raw data,” Tedros said.
He called for “timely and comprehensive data sharing” in any further investigations.
Tedros also said that although the experts concluded the laboratory leak was the “least likely” hypotheses, this theory needed to be probed further.
“I do not believe that this assessment was extensive enough,” Tedros said of the possibility of a leak.
“This requires further investigation, potentially with additional missions involving specialist experts, which I am ready to deploy,” he said.
Tedros said that no theory had yet been ruled out.
Meanwhile, the US on Tuesday released a statement with 13 of its allies saying that the inquiry lacked the data and samples it needed.
“We join in expressing shared concerns regarding the recent WHO-convened study in China,” the statement said.
Beijing insists that it was transparent with the scientists.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) told a daily briefing in Beijing yesterday that the WHO should take the lead in respecting the conclusions of scientists.
“We need to respect science, and respect the opinions and the conclusions reached by scientists,” Hua said.
“The WHO should play a leading role,” she said.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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