BEIJING (AP) – World Health Organization experts are due to arrive in China this week for a long-awaited investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, the government said on Monday.
The experts will arrive on Thursday and meet with Chinese colleagues, the National Health Commission said in a one-sentence statement that gave no other details.
It was not immediately clear whether the experts would travel to the city of Wuhan, in central China, where the coronavirus was first detected in late 2019.
Negotiations for the visit are already underway. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed disappointment last week at the delays, saying that members of the international scientific team from their home countries had already started their journey as part of an agreement between WHO and the government Chinese.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that China approved the visit after consultations between the sides and called it an opportunity to “exchange views with Chinese scientists and medical experts on scientific cooperation in tracking the origin of the new coronavirus “.
“Along with the continuing changes in the epidemic situation, our knowledge of the virus deepens and more initial cases are discovered,” Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing, adding that the search for the source is likely to involve “multiple countries and locations.”
The government of China strictly controlled all domestic research on the origins of the virus, revealed an investigation by the Associated Press, while state media has released marginal theories that suggest the virus may have originated elsewhere.
The AP investigation found that the government of China is distributing hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to scientists who are researching the origins of the virus in southern China. But it is monitoring its findings and requiring the publication of any data or research to be approved by a new task force administered by the China Cabinet, under direct orders from President Xi Jinping, according to internal documents obtained by the AP.
The culture of secrecy is believed to have delayed warnings about the pandemic, blocked information sharing with WHO and hampered initial testing. Australia and other countries have called for an investigation into the origins of the virus, prompting angry reactions from Beijing.
There were no immediate comments from WHO in Monday’s announcement, but UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters at UN headquarters in New York that Secretary General Antonio Guterres “fully supports Dr. Tedros’ efforts and WHO to get a team there. “
“It is very important that, as WHO is at the forefront of combating the pandemic, it also has a leading role in trying to look at the roots of this pandemic so that we can be better prepared for the next one,” said Dujarric. “We very much hope” that the reported comments from China that it is working with WHO and seeking a smooth visit “will happen.”
The virus’s origins have been the source of intense speculation, much of it centered on the likelihood that it was transported by bats and passed on to humans through an intermediate species sold as food or medicine in traditional Chinese markets.
China largely avoided new cases of domestic transmission, but said on Monday that dozens of people tested positive for the coronavirus in Hebei province, on the border with Beijing.
This outbreak comes amid measures to stem the spread of the virus during next month’s Lunar New Year holiday. Authorities asked citizens not to travel, ordered schools to close a week earlier, and conducted tests on a large scale.
China recorded 87,536 total cases of the virus, including 4,634 deaths. Hospitals are currently treating 673 people for COVID-19, while another 506 are isolated and under observation after a positive test without symptoms, officials said.
The Hebei outbreak caused particular concern because of the province’s proximity to Beijing. Parts of the province are blocked and interprovincial travel has been largely cut, with those entering Beijing for work having to present proof of employment and a certificate of health.
Beijing has also seen a handful of new cases, which has prompted authorities to block some suburban communities and demand that residents submit negative test results to access supermarkets and other public spaces.