Wuhan residents on Saturday (January 2) received a visit from the World Health Organization to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, more than a year after the first identified group of the infection was linked to a seafood market in Chinese city.
An international team of researchers is due to travel to China in January to examine the evidence collected by Chinese researchers and develop their initial studies.
Beijing has strongly opposed calls for an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, but said it is open to an investigation led by the WHO.
Local residents welcomed the visit, saying they hope it will help clarify the origins of the disease, which has infected more than 84 million people worldwide.
“I think it’s generally a good thing. After all, we are not afraid of the investigation. If they find out that the virus originated from Wuhan, we won’t cover it up. Or, if they discover that it doesn’t originate from here, we are justified.”
China still severely restricts access to places like the Huanan seafood market, which is empty and locked despite normal life having resumed in Wuhan.
Beijing also released a narrative that the virus existed abroad before it was found in Wuhan and, unlike other countries, cites frozen food packaging as a risk of spreading COVID-19.
Video transcription
– Wuhan residents received a visit from the World Health Organization on Saturday to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, more than a year after the first group of infections identified was linked to a seafood market in the Chinese city. An international team of researchers is due to travel to China in January to examine the evidence collected by Chinese researchers and develop their initial studies.
Beijing strongly opposed calls for an international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, but said it was open to an investigation led by the WHO. Local residents welcomed the visit, saying they hope it will help clarify the origins of the disease, which has infected more than 84 million people worldwide.
– [SPEAKING CHINESE]
INTERPRETER: I think it’s usually a good thing. After all, we are not afraid of the investigation. If they discover that the virus is from Wuhan, we will not cover it up, or if they discover that it is not from here, we are justified.
– China still severely restricts access to places like the Huanan seafood market, which is empty and locked despite normal life having resumed in Wuhan.
Beijing also released the narrative that the virus existed abroad before it was found in Wuhan and, unlike other countries, cites frozen food packaging as a risk of spreading COVID-19.