Coronavirus: WHO and Chinese experts launch origins mission – online
- Virtual meeting an important first step in politically charged environment, health agency official says
- But still no date released for investigation on the ground in Wuhan, where the pathogen was first reported
WHO health emergencies programme executive director Mike Ryan said on Friday that he “fully expects” the international team to “deploy on the ground”, but the virtual meeting was an important first step in a “politically intoxicated environment”.
“It’s important that we do an investigation and it’s important that we build confidence between scientists, between governments … this type of thing will happen again in the future and we have got to build trust and the mechanisms that allow us to do this together,” Ryan said.
“It is difficult to do this work in a politically intoxicated environment. It is hard for scientists to do what they have to do and want to do in situations like this,” he said, adding that starting virtually was “always part of the plan” so the experts could meet and review ongoing research.
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WHO chief warns against politicising coronavirus pandemic as world sees highest weekly case number
The origins of the coronavirus have become a political football, with the United States trying to blame the pandemic on China and accusing the WHO of pandering to Beijing in the early weeks of the outbreak.