The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for cooperation from countries in finding the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic after China refused to participate in the second probe, saying it is not about politics and blame game.
WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic urged nations not to think of investigations into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic as political. This is not about politics, it’s not about a blame game, the spokesman said, adding that there was a real requirement for increased collaboration.
“It is about basically a requirement we all have to try to understand how the pathogen came into the human population. In this sense, countries really have the responsibility to work together and to work with WHO in a spirit of partnership,” he stated.
The WHO earlier this month proposed a second phase of studies into the origins of the coronavirus in China, including audits of laboratories and markets in the city of Wuhan, calling for transparency from authorities.
Beijing reacted to the WHO proposal with Zeng Yixin, vice minister of China’s National Health Commission (NHC), telling reporters that the WHO plan disregards common sense and defies science.
Zeng reiterated China’s position that some data could not be completely shared due to privacy concerns. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also urged Beijing to be transparent and open to cooperate. We owe it to the millions who suffered and the millions who died to know what happened, he said.