China Says Covid-19 Origin Probe Should Shift Focus to Other Countries

BEIJING—China on Wednesday referred to as for the Earth Wellness Organization to probe whether or not Covid-19 initial emerged in other countries—possibly including from a U.S. army laboratory—in its initial community reaction to a contact from the head of the company for a extra strong investigation into whether or not the virus escaped from a Chinese lab.

A WHO-led crew that visited China earlier this yr to take a look at the pandemic’s origins concluded in a report released Tuesday that the coronavirus was “extremely unlikely” to have leaked from a Chinese laboratory and encouraged no additional research of that chance.

However, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus mentioned soon just before the report’s release that the team’s evaluation of a probable lab leak hadn’t been comprehensive enough and that additional investigation was desired, introducing he was ready to deploy extra specialists to research that chance.

Requested about Dr. Tedros’s comments at a day by day news briefing on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying frequently referred to the team’s “important conclusion” that a lab leak in Wuhan was particularly not likely.

“They have generally excluded the chance of a lab incident” in Wuhan, she mentioned.