AMN/ WEB DESK
China on Wednesday refuted the assertions of WHO Director General Dr. Tedros that it did not provide necessary access to the team of international experts and withheld data from them. China’s comments came a day after the release of the long-awaited study into the origins of COVID-19. The report, written after four weeks of investigative work in the mainland city of Wuhan, drew widespread criticism from countries including the US, which called it incomplete and overly controlled by China.
Following the publication of the much awaited joint study report into the origins of COVID-19 by China and the WHO on Tuesday, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said China had withheld data from the international investigators. WHO Director-General unexpectedly also critiqued the report, saying it had not sufficiently examined the controversial hypothesis that the virus could have leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology where researchers have been studying different coronaviruses, including ones with similarities to SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19. He also called for further studies to unravel the origin of the virus.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson also refuted a joint statement made by the United States and 13 other countries expressing ‘concerns’ over the WHO report on the origins of COVID-19. A top Chinese medical expert Liang Wannian, who was co-leader of the joint study, told reporters that researchers from both sides had access to the same data throughout the investigation and that the assertions about lack of access were not accurate.The search for the origins of the virus has become a diplomatic tussle. The U.S. and other Western nations have repeatedly raised questions about delays, transparency and data access, while China has promoted theories that suggest the virus may have come from elsewhere.