The investigation team that is in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus pandemic, tasked with finding the facts about the origins of the virus that caused the Covid-19 pandemic from the World Health Organization completed its mandatory quarantine period and is ready to start work on the field.
According to local reports, the WHO team was spotted leaving their hotel and boarding a bus after a 14-day quarantine period ended upon their arrival in China. It was not immediately clear where they were headed.
This mission of the WHO has become politically sensitive with countries like the United States demanding that China be held accountable of mishandling the Covid-19 situation after its emergence from Wuhan while Beijing is trying to avoid taking the blame for alleged missteps in its early response to the outbreak of the disease in the country.
There is however doubts cast over this fact finding mission from WHO as many question where these researchers would be allowed to visit and who they would be allowed to meet and talk to by the Chinese government.
China allowed this mission into their country only after considerable wrangling between the sides leading to a rare complaint made by the WHO against China alleging Beijing was taking too long to ensure a smooth visit.
For long China has been opposing am independent investigation on the origins of the pandemic because it would be able to fully control such an investigation an Beijing has said that the matter was complicated and delayed the visit arguing that Chinese medical staff were too busy in tackling new outbreaks of the disease in clusters in Beijing, Shanghai and some other cities.
While the WHO was criticised by countries like the United States under its former president Donald Trump of not being critical enough of the Chinese response during the initial days of the pandemic, the global health organization has in recent times alleged that China and other countries had responded too slowly at the beginning of the outbreak. The Chinese side had also admitted that it could have done better, in what was a rare admission.
However apart from that one or two statements, Beijing has been very staunch in defending its response to the outbreak potentially because of Beijing’s concerns about the reputational and even financial costs of an admission of lack of response.
The US wanted a “robust and clear” international investigation into the actual origin of the pandemic in China, said US president Joe Biden’s press secretary, Jen Psaki. it was “imperative we get to the bottom” of the appearance and the spread of the virus, she said while talking ot reporters. She also highlighted “great concern” over “misinformation” from “some sources in China”.
The pandemic has so far caused the death of more than 2 million people globally and has infected more than 100 million since it first emerged in Wuhan in China more than a year ago. There is wide agreement among scientists about the disease and the virus being transferred to humans from an animal and are focused on a so called “wet market” in Wuhan where live animals are sold.
(Source:www.theguardian.com)
According to local reports, the WHO team was spotted leaving their hotel and boarding a bus after a 14-day quarantine period ended upon their arrival in China. It was not immediately clear where they were headed.
This mission of the WHO has become politically sensitive with countries like the United States demanding that China be held accountable of mishandling the Covid-19 situation after its emergence from Wuhan while Beijing is trying to avoid taking the blame for alleged missteps in its early response to the outbreak of the disease in the country.
There is however doubts cast over this fact finding mission from WHO as many question where these researchers would be allowed to visit and who they would be allowed to meet and talk to by the Chinese government.
China allowed this mission into their country only after considerable wrangling between the sides leading to a rare complaint made by the WHO against China alleging Beijing was taking too long to ensure a smooth visit.
For long China has been opposing am independent investigation on the origins of the pandemic because it would be able to fully control such an investigation an Beijing has said that the matter was complicated and delayed the visit arguing that Chinese medical staff were too busy in tackling new outbreaks of the disease in clusters in Beijing, Shanghai and some other cities.
While the WHO was criticised by countries like the United States under its former president Donald Trump of not being critical enough of the Chinese response during the initial days of the pandemic, the global health organization has in recent times alleged that China and other countries had responded too slowly at the beginning of the outbreak. The Chinese side had also admitted that it could have done better, in what was a rare admission.
However apart from that one or two statements, Beijing has been very staunch in defending its response to the outbreak potentially because of Beijing’s concerns about the reputational and even financial costs of an admission of lack of response.
The US wanted a “robust and clear” international investigation into the actual origin of the pandemic in China, said US president Joe Biden’s press secretary, Jen Psaki. it was “imperative we get to the bottom” of the appearance and the spread of the virus, she said while talking ot reporters. She also highlighted “great concern” over “misinformation” from “some sources in China”.
The pandemic has so far caused the death of more than 2 million people globally and has infected more than 100 million since it first emerged in Wuhan in China more than a year ago. There is wide agreement among scientists about the disease and the virus being transferred to humans from an animal and are focused on a so called “wet market” in Wuhan where live animals are sold.
(Source:www.theguardian.com)
