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BEIJING: Experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) visited a Wuhan hospital on Friday as the fieldwork began in a closely watched coronavirus origins probe in a food market presumed to be “ground zero” of the pandemic.
The WHO investigation has been delayed and there are fears over access and the strength of evidence a year after the virus emerged in the central Chinese city. The team met Chinese officials and then left their Wuhan hotel in a fleet of cars, trailed by a media pack reflecting the intense global scrutiny on a visit whose aim is to establish how the virus was transferred from animals to humans.
The Xinhua hospital, where some of the earliest COVID-19 patients were admitted, is among the field visits The WHO said the visit includes three sites linked with the pandemic – Wuhan Institute of Virology, Huanan market and Wuhan CDC laboratory.
The Huanan market which remains boarded up is believed to have been the first major cluster of infections. The mission’s exact itinerary remains unclear and tweets from the WHO and its experts are so far the main source of information.
The highly-politicised mission had been beset by delays, with China refusing access until mid-January. China has warned the United States against “political interference” during the trip after the White House demanded a “robust and clear” investigation.
READ MORE: White House demands ‘robust’ probe into COVID-19 origins
The WHO insists the probe will be tethered tightly to the science behind how the virus jumped to humans. Beijing is desperate to take the air out of the blame game and instead train attention on its handling and recovery from the outbreak.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday said he had a “frank discussion” with China’s Health Minister Ma Xiaowei. “I asked that the international scientists get the support, access & data needed, and the chance to engage fully with their Chinese counterparts,” he said.
China’s National Health Commission says 4,636 people have died in the country as a result of the virus. The nation’s GDP grew 2.3 percent in 2020, the only major economy witnesse grwoth. In comparison, more than 400,000 Americans have died so far as the sickness rips through its population and economy, while Britain recorded its 100,000th fatality this week.
