The WHO’s call for more research into the virus’ possible lab origins is a sharp reversal of the agency’s initial assessment.
China has attacked the theory that the coronavirus pandemic may have originated as a leak from a Chinese laboratory as a politically motivated lie, after the World Health Organisation recommended in its strongest terms yet that a deeper probe is needed into whether a lab accident may be to blame.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the World Health Organisation should be investigation American labs instead.“The lab leak theory is totally a lie concocted by anti-China forces for political purposes, which has nothing to do with science,” Zhao said at a daily briefing. That “fully reflects China’s open, transparent and responsible attitude, as well as its support for the work of the WHO and the advisory group,” he said.is a sharp reversal of the UN health agency’s initial assessment of the pandemic’s origins. It comes after many critics accused WHO of being too quick to dismiss or underplay a lab-leak theory that put Chinese officials on the defensive.
The expert group also noted that since lab accidents in the past have triggered some outbreaks, the theory could not be discounted. They said China has not presented any studies to WHO that assessed the possibility of the coronavirus resulting from a laboratory leak.
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