WHO “Further investigation into the origin of the Wuhan coronavirus”… “Do it somewhere else”

Formation of a scientific advisory group to investigate COVID-19… “Last chance to reveal the origins of Corona”
China “Investigated twice already… Investigate areas other than China”

[아시아경제 김수환 기자] The World Health Organization (WHO) has set up a scientific advisory body to determine the origin of the COVID-19 virus and urged China to cooperate.

In response, China countered that, as it had already cooperated with the WHO investigation, further investigations should be conducted elsewhere.

According to major foreign media reports, the WHO announced on the 13th (local time) that it has formed a scientific advisory group to prepare for a new disease with a potential for a pandemic, such as COVID-19.

The ‘International Scientific Advisory Group for the Origin (Investigation) of Novel Pathogens’ (SAGO) includes 26 scientists from various countries including the United States, China, Germany and Russia.

These included Mayon Koffmans and Thea Fisher, who conducted on-site investigations in Wuhan, China, where COVID-19 was first reported in February.

The 26 scientists are experts in virology, food safety, public health, genomics, and clinical medicine.

Above all, this organization was formed for the purpose of investigating the theory of the origin of Corona 19 in China.

The organization will develop further research on the origins of the COVID-19 virus and provide advice on monitoring and support to the WHO Secretariat.

Earlier this year, the WHO-led investigation team conducted a four-week field investigation in Wuhan and surrounding areas earlier this year, and then said in March that “the virus was found to have spread from bats to other animals and to humans, but other details require further investigation.” have.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the time, “The investigation into Wuhan has not been sufficiently conducted due to the lack of data regarding the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak.”

Maria van Kerkoff, the head of the WHO’s infectious disease department, who is leading the investigation into COVID-19, said at a press conference that “with the cooperation of China, we hope that additional field investigations will be conducted in China, led by the WHO.”

“More than 30 studies need to be conducted to understand how the COVID-19 virus passed from animals to humans,” he said.

The WHO position is that a detailed investigation into suspected cases of infection before December 2019 is necessary to investigate the corona virus. The subjects of the investigation include blood samples from Wuhan residents in 2019 and data on hospitalizations and deaths in the early stages of the corona epidemic.

Mike Ryan, head of WHO’s emergency response team, said: “This new advisory group will be our best and last chance to uncover the origins of the COVID-19 that has brought the world to a standstill.

In response, the Chinese side argued that the previous investigation was sufficient and that it should be shifted to investigations other than China.

China’s UN representative, Chen Xu, held a separate press conference and said, “Two times before, an international investigation team has come to China, and the results of the investigation have been clear. Now is the time to send the investigation team elsewhere.”

Ambassador Cheon added, “If scientific investigations are to be continued, it should be a scientific-based investigation, not an investigation by an intelligence agency.”

Chinese authorities are reportedly pushing to test thousands of blood samples collected in Wuhan on their own to determine the origin of the coronavirus.

Reporter Kim Soo-hwan ksh2054@asiae.co.kr