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January 29, 2021

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WHO team set to start field study on coronavirus origins

Source: Agencies | 00:05 UTC+8 January 29, 2021 | Print Edition

A WORLD Health Organization team emerged from quarantine in the central Chinese city of Wuhan yesterday to start field work in a fact-finding mission on the origins of the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic.

The researchers, who were required to isolate for 14 days after arriving in China, left their quarantine hotel with their luggage in the midafternoon and headed to another hotel.

Yellow barriers blocked the entrance to the hotel. Before the researchers boarded their bus, workers wearing protective outfits and face shields could be seen loading their luggage, including two musical instruments and a dumbbell.

Hotel staff waved goodbye to the researchers, who were wearing face masks. The bus driver wore a full-body white protective suit. They drove about 30 minutes to a lakeside Hilton resort-like hotel.

“So proud to graduate from our 14 days... no-one went stir crazy & we’ve been v productive,” tweeted team member Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, a global NGO focused on infectious disease prevention.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that the quarantine was in line with standard international practice. He said the expert team would have talks, visits and inspections in China to carry out virus-tracing exchanges and cooperation while complying with epidemic prevention regulations.

Among the places they might visit are the Huanan Seafood Market, which was linked to many of the first cases, as well as research institutes and hospitals that treated patients at the height of the outbreak. It hasn’t been disclosed whether they will leave Wuhan.

“All activities should conform to scientific principles and serve the supreme goal of preventing future risks and protecting people’s lives and health,” said the spokesperson.

When asked to comment on White House Press Secretary Zen Psaki’s concern about the “fake information” on the origin of the novel coronavirus, Zhao said that any words and deeds with negative presumptions, or attempts to politicize the issue, were inappropriate.

He pointed out that the virus’s origin tracing is an ongoing process that may involve multiple places and areas. “It is a complicated scientific matter and requires scientists to carry out scientific research and cooperation globally.”

“We hope that the United States can work with China, in a responsible manner, respect facts, science, and the hard work of the international expert team, so that they can carry out origin-tracing and scientific research without political interference,” he added.

Meanwhile, China’s National Health Commission head Ma Xiaowei discussed cooperation on coronavirus origin tracing with the World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom in a phone call on Wednesday.

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