‘Will look into WHO proposal’: China on next phase of probe into coronavirus origin

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged China to cooperate in the second phase of investigation into the origins of the coronavirus

China said it is in the process of considering a proposal made by World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, urging Beijing to cooperate in the next phase of investigation into the origin of coronavirus, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said during a press conference on Friday, reported Bloomberg.

WHO chief asked China to be “transparent, open and cooperate” as the lack of raw data, especially from the early days of the outbreak, is hindering the probe into virus origin

“The Chinese side noted the draft plan made by Tedros and the secretariat and the Chinese side is looking into it,” Zhao said and insisted that “Origin-tracing is a scientific matter. All parties should respect the opinion of the scientists and should refrain from politicizing it.”

Ghebreyesus urged China to cooperate in the second phase of investigation into the origins of the coronavirus and insisted that, “We owe it to the millions who suffered and died.” The WHO chief asked China to be “transparent, open and cooperate” as the lack of raw data, especially from the early days of the outbreak, is hindering the probe.

Zhao, however, defended China’s attempts at cooperation, stating that raw data was shared with the expert team that was dispatched to study the origin, and that the experts were in agreement with the country’s stance. “China showed the expert team the raw data that should be considered,” Zhao said. “The experts clearly stated on multiple occasions that they acquired a large amount of data and information, and fully understood that some information related to personal privacy cannot be copied or taken away,” he added.

The Group of Seven countries, also known as the G7, have been calling on China to allow a “timely, transparent, expert-led and science-based” study into the virus’s beginnings. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison became the latest representative to join the group’s call. US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci has however cautioned that the world may never find out the precise origin of the coronavirus pandemic.