China refuses entry to WHO team to study coronavirus origins

The World Health Organisation was seeking to study the origins of the novel coronavirus for which it needed to go to China as it is where the traces were first found but China, in a shocking move, denied entry to the WHO move. 

The WHO said on Wednesday that China has blocked the entry of the team in the country, in a rare address on the matter. Chinese officials cleared their stand after the two scientists from the United Nations had already left for Wuhan from their hometowns. The information was confirmed by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. 

"I am very disappointed with this news. I have been in contact with senior Chinese officials and I have once again made clear that the mission is a priority for WHO and the international team," said the WHO director.

The officials said that the confirmation was only done after getting clarifications from both the parties. Tedros also said that he received assurance from Beijing as they said that they were typing to speed up the internal procedure for the ‘earliest possible deployment’. 

Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of WHO's health emergencies program, clarified the situation further saying that there were some issues with the visas. He added that while one of the team members had some problems with the visa, the other one was waiting on transit in a third country. 

Ryan referred to it as a logistical bureaucratic issue. But the situation till now coveys otherwise. Who officials have been negotiating with Beijing authorities to allow a team from the UN to access key sites so that a detailed report on the origin of Covid-19 can be prepared. This is after officials found out that it was first detected in Wuhan in 2019. 

Last year in May, the WHO agreed to carry out an independent probe after more than 100 countries signed demanding for it. 

Contrary to the claims of the WHO director, spokesperson for China’s ministry of foreign affairs, Hua Chunying, said that China always had a transparent and responsible attitude on racing the virus. She also said that the officials from both teams have been in frequent touch between October and December. 

She added, "In order to ensure that the international expert group that comes to China can work smoothly, it is needed to fulfill the necessary procedures and make relevant specific arrangements. The two sides are still negotiating about this. 

China has been reluctant towards and foreign involvement with regards to the presence or even origin of coronavirus connecting China to it after countries like the United States and Australia blamed the pandemic on China's loose handling of the situation.