China holds the key to understanding COVID-19 origins: WHO chief
(VOVWORLD) - The World Health Organization chief pressed China on Thursday to share its information about the origins of COVID-19, saying that until that happened all hypotheses remained on the table, more than three years after the virus first emerged .
 WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. (Photo: Reuters) |
“Without full access to the information that China has, you cannot say this or that,” said Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in response to a question about the virus’ origins.
The virus was first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, with many suspecting a live animal market to be involved, before spreading round the world and killing nearly 7 million people to date.
Data from the early days of the COVID pandemic gives information on its origins, including suggesting a role for raccoon dogs in the coronavirus reaching humans, international researchers said.
The WHO’s Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, said the WHO is now working with scientists to find out more about the earliest cases from 2019 such as the whereabouts of those infected. The WHO has also asked the United States for original data that underpinned a recent study by the US Energy Department that suggested a laboratory leak in China had likely caused the COVID-19 pandemic, she added.