The New York Times has published an interview with Peter Daszak, an animal disease specialist, just after his return from an investigative research mission to Wuhan, the site of the original COVID-19 outbreak, and surrounding areas.
He called the version of the transmission of coronavirus through bats as the most likely.
He suggested that the place of the infection's initial spread could be the south of China or Southeast Asia.
"I think the virus originated in Southeast Asia or South China from bats and then ended up on a wild animal farm," the WHO expert said.
According to Peter Dassak, the version of the transmission of coronavirus from wild animals through an intermediate link received the most support from Chinese researchers and the WHO mission members.
For reference, it became known yesterday that the Chinese government refused to provide the World Health Organization with initial data on the early cases of coronavirus infection in the country.
On January 14, an international group of WHO experts arrived in Wuhan's Chinese city to investigate the origin of COVID-19. The specialists visited the local seafood market and medical facilities and returned to Geneva to study the samples.
