The World Health Organization was optimistic on Wednesday about Beijing’s cooperation in researching the origins of COVID-19, even though China rejected the idea of a new investigation on its territory.
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“I am convinced that our colleagues in China are very willing to cooperate in the scientific studies which are necessary to further explore the origins” of the virus, said Dr Michael Ryan, head of health emergencies at the WHO, at a conference. hurry.
These statements follow the rejection, on August 13, by the Chinese authorities of the WHO call for a new investigation in China. Beijing then urged a “scientific” and not “political” approach.
The WHO and, in particular, Dr Ryan, have also been begging for months for the issue to be depoliticized.
“Politics have completely polluted the atmosphere. And we are working very hard behind the scenes to raise the level of confidence and get people to re-engage in the scientific process, ”said the senior WHO official.
“I believe that we are making progress in this area, although I must admit that it is not easy given the rhetoric that we have all witnessed in recent weeks and months,” he said. he continued.
The first coronavirus patients were identified at the end of 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan (center). The virus has since spread across the planet, killing more than 4.3 million to date.
Scientists are struggling to trace its origin. The hypothesis of a laboratory leak is firmly opposed by Beijing, which does not want to appear to be responsible for the pandemic.
A team of international experts sent by the WHO traveled to Wuhan in January 2021 for a “first phase” study on the origin of the virus. They wrote a joint report in collaboration with Chinese specialists.
The study estimated that the passage of the coronavirus from the bat to humans via an intermediate animal was the most likely scenario. Experts then judged “extremely unlikely” that the virus came from a laboratory.
Defended by Washington in a context of political rivalry with Beijing, this last hypothesis has however been relaunched in recent months by the WHO, which on August 12 asked all countries, especially China, to publish “all the data on the virus”. A month earlier, the WHO had also called for laboratory control in China.
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