WUHAN, China (AP) – Experts from the World Health Organization visited an animal disease center in the Chinese city of Wuhan on Tuesday as part of their investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
Team member Peter Daszak later told reporters that they had “excellent facilities, a very informative meeting”. questions and answers.
Further details of the visit were not disclosed.
The team members wore full protective gear during the visit on Tuesday, a further indication of the work that China has prepared for the WHO visit to Wuhan, where the first COVID-19 diseases emerged in late 2019.
Outside their hotel and in public spaces, the experts wore masks and professional or business attire throughout, but it is not clear whether they wore full-body protective attire at the research institutes, hospitals and markets they had previously visited.
Intense negotiations preceded the WHO visit to Wuhan, as China maintained strict control over access to information about the virus, possibly avoiding the blame for alleged errors in its early response to the outbreak.
But on Monday, WHO officials in Geneva pushed back against proposals that experts from ten countries were not getting enough access or data.
Maria van Kerkhove, technical leader of the WHO’s COO-19, said the team plans to visit the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which is considered to be the main source of information on the origin of the virus. Dr Michael Ryan, WHO’s emergency chief, said the agency continues to ask for more information and says anyone with information on how the pandemic started should share it with the organization.
The data that the team compiles will contribute to what is expected to be a years-long search for answers that include animal samples, genetic analysis and epidemiological studies.
China has halted the spread of the virus to a large extent through sometimes draconian measures, including rigorous testing and electronic surveillance. Mask wearing in public is standard and lock-ups are regularly applied to communities and even entire cities where cases are detected.
Schools went online and the trip was drastically cut during the lunar New Year holiday, and the government encouraged people to stay in the cities instead of returning to their hometowns for family gatherings.