The National Health Commission, in a statement, said the WHO team “will conduct joint research cooperation on the origins of Covid-19 with Chinese scientists”.
Ten scientists from the World Health Organisation (WHO) will visit China from Thursday to probe the origins of Covid-19, authorities informed on Monday. The development comes more than a year after the pandemic began and amid accusations that Beijing has tried to thwart the investigation.
At a time when the coronavirus pandemic has devastated the world, caused almost two million deaths, and brought the global economy to a virtual standstill, the long-awaited mission is of great political significance.
The National Health Commission, in a statement, said the WHO team “will conduct joint research cooperation on the origins of Covid-19 with Chinese scientists”.
Earlier this month, a last-minute delay to the mission had earned China a rare rebuke from the head of the WHO.
The World Health Organization chief had told reporters Beijing had not yet finalised permission for the team’s arrival, saying he was “very disappointed with this news”. This came as a surprise for critics of China who’ve maintained that WHO has not been as strict as it should have been in case of China and its handling of the virus.
However, after being criticised by the WHO chief, Beijing had said delays to a long-planned mission by WHO experts to China to investigate the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic are “not just a visa issue”.
Hua Chunying, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, had told reporters Wednesday that talks were continuing between the two sides over “the specific date and specific arrangement of the expert group’s visit”.
“The issue of origin-tracing is incredibly complicated. To ensure the work of the international expert team in China goes smoothly, we have to carry out necessary procedures and make relevant arrangements,” said Hua.
The country is “doing its best to create good conditions for the international expert group to come to China”, she added.
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