China Blocks Entry to WHO Team Studying Covid-19 Origins

By Staff, Agencies

China blocked the arrival of a team from the World Health Organization [WHO] investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, claiming that their visas had not yet been approved even as some members of the group were on their way.

The WHO’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressed his dismay and said he had called on China to allow the team in.

“I’m very disappointed with this news, given that two members have already begun their journeys, and others were not able to travel at the last minute,” he said.

“But I have been in contact with senior Chinese officials. And I have once again made it clear that the mission is a priority for WHO and the international team.”

The WHO has been attempting to send in the team of global experts from a number of countries for some months. It has been talking with Chinese officials since July. Scientists have long said it is essential to find out how the virus jumped species into humans.

The expedition to China was heading to Wuhan to investigate the earliest cases. It was not intending to probe claims that the virus originated in a Chinese lab, which have been dismissed by most scientists.

The mission has been criticized by the US, where outgoing president, Donald Trump, categorically blamed the Chinese for the pandemic.