US and EU to back investigation into origins of coronavirus
- The US is among several countries that have called on China to be more transparent with its data amid ongoing questions over how the outbreak started
- A World Health Organization report earlier this year said the most likely origin was natural, but it has also called for further studies
The United States and the European Union are set to back a renewed push into investigating the origins of Covid-19 after conflicting assessments about where the outbreak started, according to a document seen by Bloomberg News.
In a draft statement the countries hope to adopt at a summit later this month, they “call for progress on a transparent, evidence-based, and expert-led WHO-convened phase 2 study on the origins of Covid-19, that is free from interference”.
The US is among several countries that have called on China to be more transparent with its data and allow greater access, amid ongoing questions over whether the outbreak was caused by a laboratory accident, was transmitted from wildlife or caused by something else.
A new investigation risks fuelling tensions with China, which has rejected suggestions of a lab leak and rebuffed international efforts to further investigate the virus’s origins.
A World Health Organization report earlier this year said the most likely origin was natural, but it’s also called for further studies.