WHO names line-up for international team looking into coronavirus origins
- Ten public health experts, animal health specialists and virus hunters will work alongside Chinese scientists
- World Health Organization says it has been reassured by Beijing that they will be on the ground in China ‘as soon as possible’
The 10-person team includes public health experts, animal health specialists and virus hunters from Japan, Qatar, Germany, Vietnam, Russia, Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Britain and the United States.
They will work alongside Chinese scientists on a set of investigations into how the virus that causes Covid-19 emerged and spilled over into humans, triggering a pandemic that has now claimed over 1.4 million lives.
“There has been a level of attack and abuse to people involved in international science. It is not an easy space to be in right now and let me be plain about that,” said Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme.
He pointed to hate mail and threats within a climate of “anti-science movements” and “ideologic politics”.