WHO. Photo Illustration: Reuters
jpnn.com, BEIJING – China on Thursday rejected a World Health Organization (WHO) plan for a second phase of an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, which includes the hypothesis that the virus may have escaped a Chinese laboratory, a top official said.
The WHO in July called for transparency from Chinese authorities by proposing a second phase study of the origins of the coronavirus in China, including an audit of laboratories and markets in the city of Wuhan.
“We will not accept such a plan to trace the origin (of the virus), in some aspects, which ignores common sense and defies science,” deputy minister of China’s National Health Commission (NHC), Zeng Yixin, told reporters.
Zeng said he was surprised when he first read the WHO plan because it included the hypothesis that breaches of laboratory protocols in China had led to virus leaks during the study.
“We hope that WHO seriously reviews the considerations and suggestions made by Chinese experts and truly treats tracing the origin of the virus that causes COVID-19 as a scientific matter, and eliminates political interference,” Zeng said.
China is against the politicization of this research, he said.
The origin of the new coronavirus is still debated among experts.
The first known case emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. The virus is believed to have passed to humans from animals sold for food at a city market.
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