World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Tuesday urged a deeper investigation into whether the coronavirus outbreak originated with a leak from a lab, as world leaders pushed for a treaty to prepare for future pandemics.
A report by the WHO was released today. It was drawn up following a visit to Wuhan, China. It had judged the lab-leak hypothesis highly unlikely.
According to Mr. Ghebreyesus, the team of experts visited several labs in China and discussed the possibility that the virus is a result of a potential leak, but in his words, this hypothesis “requires further investigation, potentially with additional missions involving specialist experts.”
Ghebreyesus thinks that a potential leak is the least likely, which is why he is ready to form another team of experts to learn the truth.
We have not yet found the source of the virus, and we must continue to follow the science and leave no stone unturned as we do,” said Dr. Tedros. “Finding the origin of a virus takes time and we owe it to the world to find the source so we can collectively take steps to reduce the risk of this happening again. No single research trip can provide all the answers.”
The WHO international team of experts arrived in China on 14 January and stayed there for almost a month “to identify the zoonotic source of the virus and the route of introduction to the human population, including the possible role of intermediate hosts, including through efforts such as scientific and collaborative field missions.”
The WHO experts visited the Wuhan Institute of Virology, including the BSL lab around which rumors on COVID-19 leak swirled, the Huanan Seafood Market and Disease Control Center.
