BEIJING (AP) – Experts from the World Health Organization will arrive in China this week for a long-awaited investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, the government said on Monday.
The experts will arrive there on Thursday and meet with Chinese counterparts, the National Health Commission said in a statement of one sentence containing no other details.
It was not immediately clear whether the experts would travel to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus was detected at the end of 2019.
Negotiations for the visit have been going on for a long time. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus last week expressed disappointment over delays, saying that members of the international scientific team leaving their home countries had already embarked on their journey as part of an arrangement between the WHO and the Chinese government.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China approved the visit after consultation between the parties and called it an opportunity to exchange views with Chinese scientists and medical experts on scientific cooperation on tracing the origin. of the new coronavirus. ‘
“Along with constant changes in the epidemic situation, our knowledge of the virus is deepening and cases are being detected earlier,” Zhao told reporters during a daily briefing, adding that the search for the origin was likely to involve ‘several countries and localities’. .
An investigation by the Associated Press found that the Chinese government strictly controlled all research at home on the origin of the virus, while the state-owned media devised additional theories suggesting that the virus could have originated elsewhere.
The AP investigation found that the Chinese government is handing out hundreds of thousands of dollars to scientists investigating the origin of the virus in southern China. But it monitors their findings and instructs that the publication of any data or research by a new task force led by China’s cabinet should be approved under direct documentation by President Xi Jinping, according to internal documents obtained by the AP. .
It is believed that the culture of secrecy delayed warnings about the pandemic, blocked the sharing of information with the WHO and hindered early testing. Australia and other countries have called for an investigation into the origin of the virus, which has sparked angry reactions from Beijing.
There was no immediate comment from the WHO on Monday, but UN spokeswoman Stephane Dujarric had earlier told reporters at UN headquarters in New York that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ was fully supported by Dr. Tedros and the WTO’s efforts to get a team in. there. ”
“It is very important that the WHO plays the leading role in combating the pandemic, that it also plays a leading role in looking back at the roots of this pandemic, so that we can be better prepared for the next one,” said Dujarric. “We very much hope ‘that China’s comments that it cooperates with the WHO and is looking for a smooth visit will’ report. ‘
The origin of the virus was the source of intense speculation, and much of it was the likelihood that it was carried by bats and transmitted to humans through an intermediary sold as traditional Chinese wet markets as food or medicine.
China has largely thwarted new cases of domestic transmission, but said Monday that many people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Hebei Province, which borders Beijing.
This outbreak comes amid measures to curb the further spread of the virus during next month’s New Year holidays. Authorities urged citizens not to travel, and ordered schools to close a week early and conduct large-scale tests.
China has recorded 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 symptoms.
The Hebei outbreak has been of particular concern due to the province’s proximity to Beijing. Parts of the province are locked up and interprovincial travel is largely cut off, and those entering Beijing to work must provide proof of employment and a clean health certificate.
Beijing has also seen a handful of new cases, which have led authorities to shut down suburban communities and require residents to show negative test results to gain access to grocery stores and other public spaces.