China Didn't Approve Entry Of WHO Team Investigating COVID-19 Origins

A team from the WHO had been blocked by the Chinese authority from entering the country. The goal of the team is to investigate the origins of the novel coronavirus. According to the team, China hadn’t approved the visas even when some members were already on their way.

Among two members who had already embarked on their journey, one has already turned back while one is in transit in another country. The problem was a lack of visa clearances, WHO stated.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director-general, expressed his dismay and disappointment with this news. He added that he had already been in contact with China to let the team in.

In December, after months of negotiations between Beijing and the WHO, the long-awaited probe finally received approval from Beijing. WHO wants to send a team of 10 international experts to the country for months to study the origin of the pandemic and how the virus first transmitted to humans.

Last month, the organization announced that the team would begin its investigation in January 2021.

The initial outbreak of COVID-19 was linked to a wet market in Wuhan in late 2019. The virus was initially believed to come from the market where exotic animals were sold. But the virus’s origins still remain an argument.

Some experts argue that the virus might not have come from the market. Some research has pointed out that coronaviruses may have been circulating in bats for decades. However, it isn’t known how the virus crossed over from bats to humans.

WHO had hoped that the problem could be resolved quickly so that the team could enter China for its mission. On January 14th, the team finally arrived in Wuhan. The members of the team include viruses and other experts from the US, Britain, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Qatar, Japan, and Vietnam.

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