Covid 19 coronavirus: WHO did not visit Wuhan on a research trip to China

It is widely understood that the coronavirus pandemic that caused global chaos started in the Chinese city of Wuhan, but World Health Organization experts starting an investigation into the virus have not set foot in the city.

The WHO’s admission overnight is fueling concern among some Western governments that international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus will be a failure.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters overnight that two researchers from the health agency flew to China from Geneva and spent the last three weeks there.

However, he admitted that they had no intention of traveling to Wuhan, where the first cases of the new coronavirus were detected in December 2019. The virus has killed more than 800,000 people worldwide.

He said the team was simply laying the groundwork for a comprehensive international mission to investigate the virus.

The decision not to visit Wuhan has fueled concern that the Chinese government may curb any attempts at an impartial investigation into Covid-19.

Liberal MP Dave Sharma said he was “alarmed” that the team spent so much time in China but did not visit Wuhan, the “origin of the outbreak” and the home of the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

“If this research is to help prevent future pandemics, it must be independent and enjoy unrestricted access,” Sharma said.

“WHO must put the interest of the world’s public health before the sensitivity of any particular nation.”

After initially rejecting calls from Australia, the US and other countries to investigate the outbreak, Chinese President Xi Jinping backed a WHO-led investigation in May.

But WHO’s mission “to identify the zoonotic source of the virus and the route of introduction to the human population,” backed by more than 130 countries, has been plagued by concerns about transparency and access to key sites.

Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, said in July that he believed the results of the investigation would be “completely covered up.” In May, President Donald Trump terminated US ties with the WHO, which he said was under “total control” by Beijing.

The failure of WHO officials to visit Wuhan has further fueled skepticism.

“The WHO delegation sat in Beijing for three weeks and did not go near Wuhan,” a senior US official told the Financial Times. “Any chance of finding a smoking gun no longer exists.”

However, the WHO has defended its tactics, saying the three-week visit was only one part of a two-part process.

“The purpose of his visit was to prepare the conditions for the group of experts that will travel to carry out the study,” Tedros told reporters.

“So it was not to start the study, but to develop the terms of reference and prepare the conditions so that the international group can have … the things it needs to start the study.

“It was not their intention to start the study and they had no plans to travel to Wuhan.”

He said that when international experts meet in China to officially begin the study, they will “naturally” begin their research in Wuhan.

“It is the basics of investigations like these to start the study from where the first report came and the first report of the virus came from Wuhan,” he said.

He said the WHO researchers who have just been in China also had a video conference with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Meanwhile, a senior Chinese government diplomat claimed overnight that it was unclear whether the coronavirus originated in China.

During a visit to Norway, State Councilor Wang Yi said that while China was the first country to report the virus to the World Health Organization, “it does not mean that the virus originated in China.”

“Actually, over the past few months, we have seen reports … showing that the virus emerged in different parts of the world and may have emerged earlier than in China,” Wang told reporters, speaking through an interpreter.

“Where the virus started and how it started … it should be left to scientists and medical experts … It should not be politicized or stigmatized. Who is patient zero? It is still unknown.”

Attacks on Australia for his push for the investigation also continued this week, with an envoy from Beijing comparing Australia’s move to Brutus conspiring against Julius Caesar in the days of ancient Rome.

Wang Xining, the deputy chief of mission for the Chinese embassy, ​​made the remarks in a rare public speech, speaking of China’s “outrage, anger and frustration” over Australia’s push for a global investigation.

“He is roughly identical to Julius Caesar in his last days when he saw Brutus approaching him,” Wang said.

China reacted furiously when Australia led calls in April for an independent investigation into the virus.

Beijing subsequently imposed tariffs on Australian products and warned Chinese tourists and students not to visit the country, citing alleged racial harassment against Asians.

Expanding on Beijing’s reaction, Wang said Australia had “singled out” China in its call for an investigation and had given no notice of its plans.

“Suddenly they [the world] I heard this shocking news of a proposal coming from Australia, which is supposed to be a good friend of China, ”he said.

Wang said Australia had “hurt the feelings” of China’s 1.4 billion people with its actions.

Sydney MP Sharma responded to Wang on Wednesday.

“Hurt feelings ??” wrote on Twitter. “At last count, Covid-19 has killed 800,000 people worldwide and caused economic disruption on a scale not seen since the Great Depression.

“If getting to the bottom of what caused this raises some ‘hurt feelings,’ I think that’s the least of our concerns.”

Wang added that China’s subsequent trade action against Australia’s lucrative beef, wine and barley industries was not retaliation but due to “technical problems.”