BEIJING (AP) – Experts from the World Health Organization arrive in China this week for a long-awaited investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, the government said Monday.
The experts will arrive Thursday and meet with Chinese counterparts, the National Health Commission said in a one-sentence statement that contained no other details.
It was not immediately clear whether the experts would travel to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the corona virus was first discovered at the end of 2019.
Negotiations for the visit have been ongoing for a long time. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed his disappointment at the delays last week, saying that members of the international scientific team leaving their home countries had already started their journey as part of an agreement between WHO and the Chinese government.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China approved the visit after consultation between the parties, calling it an opportunity to “exchange views with Chinese scientists and medical experts on scientific cooperation in tracing the origins of the novel. coronavirus.”
“In addition to ongoing changes in the epidemic situation, our knowledge of the virus is deepening and more early cases are being discovered,” Zhao told reporters during a daily briefing, adding that the search for its origins is likely to be “multiple countries and places.” include.
The Chinese government has strictly controlled all home research into the origin of the virus, according to an Associated Press investigation, while state media has played down theories that suggest the virus could come from elsewhere.
The AP investigation revealed that the Chinese government is giving out hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to scientists investigating the origin of the virus in southern China. But it is monitoring their findings and mandating that any publication of any data or research must be approved by a new task force managed by the Chinese cabinet, under direct orders from President Xi Jinping, according to internal documents obtained by the AP.
The culture of secrecy is believed to have delayed warnings about the pandemic, blocked information sharing with the WHO, and hindered early testing. Australia and other countries have called for an investigation into the origin of the virus, prompting angry reactions from Beijing.
There was no immediate response from WHO to Monday’s announcement, but UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric had previously told reporters at UN headquarters in New York that Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ efforts were being made by Dr. Tedros and the WHO to get a team in. There.”
“It is very important that, as the WHO is at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic, it also plays a leading role in trying to look back at the roots of this pandemic so that we can be better prepared for the next one,” said Dujarric. “We sincerely hope” that the comments reported by China that it is cooperating with the WHO and looking for a smooth visit “will happen.”
The origin of the virus has been the source of intense speculation, much of it centered around the likelihood that it was carried by bats and transmitted to humans through an intermediate species sold as food or medicine in traditional Chinese wet markets.
China has largely stopped new cases of domestic transfer, but said on Monday that dozens of people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Hebei province, bordering Beijing.
That outbreak comes amid measures to stem the further spread of the virus during next month’s Lunar New Year holiday. Authorities have called on citizens not to travel, ordered schools to close a week earlier, and have conducted tests on a large scale.
China has registered a total of 87,536 cases of the virus, including 4,634 deaths. Hospitals are currently treating 673 people for COVID-19, while 506 others are in isolation and under observation after testing positive without showing any symptoms, officials said.
The Hebei outbreak has raised particular concern due to Beijing’s proximity to the province. Parts of the province have been shut down and inter-provincial travel largely cut off, requiring those entering Beijing to work to provide proof of work and a clean bill of health.
Beijing has also seen a handful of new cases, prompting authorities to lock up some suburban communities and require residents to show negative test results in order to access supermarkets and other public spaces.