On Tuesday (Feb. 9), the World health Organization released a statement that the COVID-19 virus did not originate from the Wuhan laboratory. A White House press secretary said the Biden administration expects an independent review of the data in the WHO report. The U.S. State Department said it was inconclusive as to whether Beijing was fully transparent about the virus pandemic.
A team of WHO experts traveled to Wuhan, China, to investigate the origin of COVID-19. On Tuesday, the person in charge of investigating the origin of the virus said bats remain a possible source of the virus and that the possibility of spreading the virus through frozen foods warrants further study. He also ruled out the possibility of a laboratory leak of the virus.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that the U.S. government was not involved in the “planning and implementation” of the investigation, but wanted an independent review of its findings and underlying data.
She added that even if the U.S. government rejoins the WHO, “we have to have our own team of experts in China.
Peter Ben Embarek led a team of WHO experts on a nearly month-long visit to Wuhan. The plague of the Chinese communist virus (Wuhan virus, New Crown virus) first broke out in late 2019 in Wuhan’s South China seafood market.
The virus is highly unlikely to leak from a laboratory and does not require further study, Embrek said.
Asked about the WHO’s findings at a news conference Tuesday, State Department spokesman Ned Price said he could not conclude that WHO experts had received full cooperation from the Chinese and that Beijing had not yet been fully transparent about the virus pandemic.
“Well, I don’t think it’s clear.” Price said, “I think it’s clear that at least as of now, the Chinese (Communist Party of China) has not provided us with the necessary transparency that we need.”
He added that the U.S. will make its judgment based on data from the World Health Organization and its own intelligence.
“We’re not rushing to any conclusion other than scientific, we’re going to look at the data that’s been provided to us and come to a conclusion based on that.” Price said.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo questioned the WHO’s assessment of the origin of the virus, insisting that there is “significant evidence” that the virus originated in a laboratory in China.
The former secretary of state also said the WHO statement does not change his view of the origin of the virus in China, or the legitimacy of the WHO itself.
He hopes that the influence of the Chinese Communist Party on the WHO will not affect the conclusion of the origin of the deadly virus. “This (WHO) has been politicized,” Pompeo said, “and it has caved in to General Secretary Xi Jinping in China. I hope that’s not the case with their announcement today (referring to the result of influence by the Chinese Communist Party).”
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