TOPLINE: The Chinese government on Thursday rejected the World Health Organisation’s plan for the second phase of investigation into the origins of Covid-19—which will also examine the possibility that the virus may have escaped from a Wuhan lab—signaling further politicization of the investigation that has previously been hampered by Beijing’s unwillingness to share important data.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



Zeng Yixin, the vice minister of China’s National Health Commission (NHC), told reporters he was “shocked” by the plan to investigate the lab leak hypothesis and said “it is impossible for us to accept such an origin-tracing plan.”



<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-china-coronavirus-pandemic-united-nations-a20391afec60601f3d666efc3c18b61d" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">According to</a>&nbsp;the Associated Press, Zeng dismissed the theory as a rumor “that runs counter to common sense and science.”



Responding to the WHO’s earlier statement about the investigation being hampered by the lack of raw data from Chinese authorities, Zeng reiterated Beijing’s stance that some data could not be completely shared due to privacy concerns.



Zeng insisted that the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s labs have no virus that can directly infect humans and noted that a WHO-led team of experts had visited the lab earlier this year and concluded that a leak was highly unlikely.



The vice minister also dismissed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/intelligence-on-sick-staff-at-wuhan-lab-fuels-debate-on-covid-19-origin-11621796228?reflink=share_mobilewebshare" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">media reports</a>&nbsp;that staff and graduate students at the institute had fallen sick due to the virus and then transmitted it to others.



The vocal push back from Beijing comes a week after WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for better cooperation from China and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-world-news-health-science-coronavirus-pandemic-c0c594f9060f676c0ea48c2d1c69daec" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">noted</a>&nbsp;that there had been a “premature push” to rule out the lab leak theory.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



In March, the World Health Organization and China&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/who-convened-global-study-of-origins-of-sars-cov-2-china-part" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a>&nbsp;a joint study that offered preliminary insight into the origin of the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus. The report suggested that the outbreak was likely caused by the virus jumping from bats to humans through an intermediary animal and also labeled the lab leak hypothesis as “extremely unlikely.” It was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/30/who-criticises-chinas-data-sharing-as-it-releases-covid-origins-report" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sharply criticized</a>&nbsp;by the U.S., U.K., Canada and several other countries who accused China of “withholding access to complete original data and samples”. The lab leak theory—initially pushed by fringe groups—has seen a rise in mainstream interest after President Joe Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2021/05/26/biden-says-intelligence-agencies-have-coalesced-around-two-likely-scenarios-for-origin-of-covid-19/?sh=266488003fb2">ordered</a>&nbsp;U.S. intelligence agencies to examine the origin of the pandemic in May. U.S. intelligence agencies have two prevailing theories at the moment with branches believing that it was transmitted from animals, while another branch believes it came from a lab at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which does research work on bat viruses.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-china-coronavirus-pandemic-united-nations-a20391afec60601f3d666efc3c18b61d" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">China rebuffs WHO’s terms for further COVID-19 origins study</a>&nbsp;(Associated Press)



<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-will-not-follow-whos-suggested-plan-2nd-phase-covid-19-origins-study-2021-07-22/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">China rejects WHO plan for study of COVID-19 origin</a> (Reuters)



By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

News Conference On Chinese Vaccines Against COVID-19 In Beijing

China ‘Shocked’ By WHO’s Plan To Investigate Covid-19 Lab Leak Theory

As of Monday, September 29, figures show that global pandemic Covid-19 has taken the lives of over one million people. According to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2020/09/28/covid-19-has-killed-more-than-1-million-people-worldwide/#7d4ac45f1276">ForbesUS</a>, the death rate shows few signs of decreasing as there is an average of 3,819 deaths per day since the start of the year. Furthermore, <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/">WorldOMeter’s</a> figures show the country leading with the highest number of deaths globally is the United States of America. The U.S, who have been leading with the highest number of deaths since May, now sits with over 205,000 reported deaths.&nbsp;



“As some countries start to open up we see cases and deaths starting to spike. This is a critical moment for countries and we ask leaders to put targeted measures in place that we know can suppress the spread,” World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom said at a media briefing on September, 18.&nbsp;



China, the epicenter of the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus which reportedly originated at a market in the city of Wuhan, first reported a Covid-19 death in mid-January. However, for several weeks now the country of origin has maintained that their death rate remains at 4,634.&nbsp;



In the African region, of the million, the fatal virus has killed 35, 000 people on the continent. However, there has been a decline in infections in the African region since July 20. WHO in the African Region claims that some of the most-affected countries including Algeria, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa have all seen infections drop every week over the past two months. Deaths due to the virus have also remained low in the region.



Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa said in a statement on September 24 that though the decline is good news, this does not mean that measures to mitigate the spread should not be relaxed.&nbsp;



“The downward trend&#8230;speaks to the robust and decisive public health measures taken by governments across the region. But we must not become complacent. Other regions of the world have experienced similar trends only to find that as social and public health measures are relaxed, cases start ramping up again,” Moeti said.&nbsp;



“This pandemic has shown that whether countries are rich or poor, health systems can be completely overwhelmed and essential services can break down,” Tedros added.&nbsp;&nbsp;



For more of an update on Covid-19 across Africa click <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/health/2020/09/28/in-numbers-coronavirus-update-covid-19-in-africa/">here</a>

Tag: Wuhun

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

China ‘Shocked’ By WHO’s Plan To Investigate Covid-19 Lab Leak Theory

Coronavirus Claims The Lives of More Than 1 Million People Worldwide