More than two years after coronavirus was detected in China and after at least 6.3 million deaths from the pandemic, the WHO is recommending that a deeper probe is required into whether a lab accident may be to blame. 7NEWS
More than two years after coronavirus was detected in China and after at least 6.3 million deaths have been counted worldwide from the pandemic, the World Health Organisation is recommending in its strongest terms yet that a deeper probe is required into whether a lab accident may be to blame.
Yet in a report released on Thursday, the WHO's expert group said "key pieces of data" to explain how the pandemic began were still missing. The report could revive accusations that the WHO initially was too accepting of Chinese government explanations early in the outbreak, which ultimately killed millions of people, sickened millions more, forced dozens of countries into lockdown and upended the world economy.
Jamie Metzl, who sits on an unrelated WHO advisory group, has suggested that G7 countries set up their own COVID-19 origins probe, saying the WHO lacks the political authority, expertise and independence to conduct such a critical evaluation. "Gaining access to this information is critical to both understanding how this pandemic began and preventing future pandemics."
The report concluded that the disease most likely jumped into humans from bats and that there was no evidence to suggest there was a connection to a laboratory.
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