China Allows WHO Team To Visit Wuhan To Trace Covid-19 Origin; Slams US For Stepping Out Of UN Body

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that the decision to allow the team of top health agency to visit Wuhan was taken after consulting officials from the agency.

World Health Organisation. (AFP)

Beijing: After undergoing pressure from various countries over the Coronavirus outbreak, China on Wednesday allowed the World Health Organisation (WHO) to visit the country to trace origins of Covid-19, which first emerged in Chinese central city of Wuhan in 2019 end. Speaking about the same, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that the decision to allow the team of top health agency to visit Wuhan was taken after consulting officials from the agency. The WHO Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Tuesday said that a team of WHO experts will visit China this weekend and work with Chinese counterparts to identify the zoonotic (animal to human) source of the Covid-19 pandemic.

.@WHO experts will travel to #China this weekend to work together with their Chinese counterparts to prepare scientific plans for identifying the zoonotic source of #COVID19. The experts will develop the scope and terms of reference for a WHO-led international mission.

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) July 7, 2020

The experts will develop the scope and terms of reference for a WHO-led international mission, Ghebreyesus said adding that identifying the origin of emerging viral disease has proven complex in past epidemics in different countries. "A well planned series of scientific researches will advance the understanding of animal reservoirs and the route of Coronavirus transmission to humans," he said.  This process is an evolving endeavor which may lead to further international scientific research and collaboration globally, Ghebreyesus added.  Meanwhile, China also slammed United State's decision to withdraw from the WHO as yet another example of Washington upholding "unilateralism" and defended the UN body for coordinating the global response to Covid-19, as it geared up for a visit by the health agency's experts to probe the origin of the Coronavirus. The Trump administration has formally notified the United Nations of its decision to withdraw the US from the World Health Organization (WHO), breaking off ties with the global health body despite the raging Coronavirus pandemic in the country. US President Donald Trump said he was halting funding to the organisation in mid-April and announced his intention to withdraw from the WHO in May after he said it "failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms." The US has accused the WHO of siding with China on the outbreak of the virus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, alleging the health body misled the world resulting in deaths of over half a million people globally, including over 130,000 in America alone.