First tensions between WHO and China over the Wuhan virus
What is happening between WHO and China? Why is Beijing delaying issuing visas to WHO experts to investigate the origins of the pandemic? All the news
First tensions between China and WHO over the Wuhan virus. Here are all the details.
The delays in the long-planned mission to China of WHO experts to investigate the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic "are not just a matter of visas". The talks, said the spokesman of the Foreign Ministry Hua Chunying, continue "on the specific date and on the specific organization of the visit of the group of experts".
Yesterday, WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced, as expected, the departure of the team of scientists for China, declaring himself "very disappointed" at the lack of green light from the Beijing authorities.
"The question of origin search is incredibly complicated," added Hua: "To ensure that the work of the international expert team in China runs smoothly, we need to carry out the necessary procedures and make relevant arrangements", despite months of negotiations already spent to organize the trip.
The team of 10 experts was due to arrive in China this week with the delicate task of determining how and where the virus passed from animals to humans, but, with some of them already on the road, China has denied entry visas. .
The first cases of coronavirus were recorded in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019, as part of accusations and suspicions on the chaotic and secret management by the authorities, favoring the transformation of the epidemic into a pandemic.
For example, 'whistleblowers', including doctor Li Wenliang, sounded the unheard alarm about the mysterious pneumonia reminiscent of SARS, while citizen journalists were arrested, including Zhang Zhan, the 37-year-old former lawyer convicted of the last week to 4 years in prison due to the coverage given to the crisis on his blog, accused of "having collected fights and caused problems".
Despite the pressure, Beijing resisted the launch of an independent investigation, then sowing doubts that the pandemic has also started within its borders. Lastly, Foreign Minister Wang Yi has recently launched the unsubstantiated statement "that the pandemic has probably started in several places in the world".
China, as mentioned, has denied having prevented the arrival of a team of WHO scientists to investigate the origins of Covid-19 and has assured that negotiations are still underway.
But WHO director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, revealed yesterday that the Chinese authorities have prevented the arrival of some experts from the mission for now, saying he is "very disappointed" by Beijing. "In the last 24 hours, many of the experts have started their journey to China from their countries, but today we learned that the Chinese authorities have not finalized the necessary permits for the team to arrive, so I am very disappointed," said Tedros. , ensuring that he is in contact with the Chinese authorities "to make them understand that the mission is a priority".
The director general also said that China has assured him an acceleration of procedures to facilitate the start of the mission. Earlier this week, Beijing refused to confirm the exact dates and details of the visit. The WHO previously said China has granted permission to a team of 10.
In November, the WHO announced that the mission is made up of scientists from the United States, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Australia, Vietnam, Germany and Qatar. Some are linked to the Geneva-based agency, others to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and others to the World Organization for Animal Health. Among other things, the mission should go to the city of Wuhan (central China), where the first cases of Covid have been detected, and in principle its goal is to find the possible animal origin of the virus and through which channels was transmitted to the human being.
Little has always been known about the organization of this mission, which was delayed for months, both from the Chinese authorities and from the WHO itself. A team of experts from the World Health Organization has already visited China in July and February to investigate the origins of the coronavirus, but few details have been disclosed on both occasions.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/prime-tensioni-fra-oms-e-cina-sul-virus-di-wuhan/ on Wed, 06 Jan 2021 14:34:40 +0000.