A group of international scientists and researchers said that the joint study of the coronavirus between China and the World Health Organization (WHO) did not provide a reliable answer on how the pandemic started, and that a more rigorous investigation is needed with or without Beijing.
A joint study published last week showed that the most likely route of transmission of the virus caused by covid-19 involves bats and other wildlife in China and Southeast Asia. The possibility of virus leaking from the laboratory is ruled out.
Twenty-four scientists from Europe, the United States, Australia and Japan said in an open letter that the research was interrupted for political reasons.
Jamie Metzl of the Atlantic Council, who wrote the letter, said that they hope to reach “as many compromises as possible to achieve the minimum cooperation with China.”
The letter also pointed out that the conclusions of this study are based on unpublished Chinese research results, while key records and biological samples are “still unavailable.”
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adanom Gabriasus said last week that China has denied some data.
Liang Wannian, a senior Chinese expert on covid-19, denied this claim and seemed to reject any further joint investigations in China, saying that the focus should be shifted to other countries.
Metzl said that without the participation of the Chinese, the world may have to go back to “Plan B” and conduct investigations “in the most systematic way possible.”
China denies the allegation that the SARS-CoV-2 virus leaked from a research laboratory in Wuhan, which was the city where covid-19 was first discovered.
A joint study by China and the World Health Organization found that it was “very unlikely” that the virus leaked from the laboratory, saying that “no data” indicated that any laboratory had a virus related to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Tedros added: “More research is needed to draw better conclusions.”
Metz emphasized that China should provide information that can refute laboratory hypotheses.
He said: “China has a database of which viruses are kept in the laboratory, and added, “There are types of scientists who deal with this virus, and we cannot reach these people. ”
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