WHO experts to wade into tricky territory in hunt for virus' origins

BEIJING, China, January 6 ------ A year after the outbreak started, WHO experts are due in China for a highly politicized visit to explore the origins of the coronavirus, in a trip trailed by accusations of cover-ups, conspiracy and fears of a whitewash. Under the global glare, Beijing delayed access for independent experts into China to probe the origins of the pandemic, reluctant to agree to an inquiry. But the WHO now says China has granted permission for a visit by its experts, with a 10-person team expected to arrive shortly for a five or six week visit—including a fortnight spent in quarantine.

Chinese authorities this week refused to confirm the exact dates and details of the visit, a sign of the enduring sensitivity of their mission. COVID-19 was first detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019, before seeping beyond China's borders to wreak havoc, costing over 1.8 million lives and eviscerating economies. But its origins remain bitterly contested, lost in a fog of recriminations and conjecture from the international community—as well as obfuscation from Chinese authorities determined to keep control of its virus narrative.

The WHO team has promised to focus on the science, specifically how the coronavirus jumped from animals—believed to be bats—to humans. "This is not about finding a guilty country or a guilty authority," Fabian Leendertz from the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's central disease control body who will be among the team to visit, told AFP in late December. "This is about understanding what happened to avoid that in the future, to reduce the risk." But doubt has been cast over what the WHO mission can reasonably expect to achieve and the state pressure they will face, raising fears that the mission will serve to rubber stamp China's official story, not challenge it.

Source: philstar.com