In an open letter published Friday (April 30), a group of international scientists and academics reiterated their call for the World Health Organization to dig deeper into the origins of the new coronavirus, and in particular to investigate further suspicions that the virus leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan, where the outbreak was first reported.
This is the third letter WHO has received raising concerns about its initial investigation in China into the source of the virus.
“Understanding the origins of this pandemic is critical to addressing our vulnerabilities and preventing future crises. Unfortunately, as outlined in open letters published March 4 and April 7, flaws in the structure, procedures and analysis of the joint study convened by WHO on the origin of the new coronavirus create unnecessary obstacles to this understanding,” the letter said.
The letter was signed by 25 scientists and academics and sponsored by Jamie Metzl, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank, an evolutionary geneticist at a French biology institute and an engineer and data scientist at the Bank of New Zealand.
A team of experts from the World Health Organization investigated the source of the coronavirus in China in January-February 2021, more than a year after the first case was reported in Wuhan in December 2019. The investigation team concluded that the new coronavirus most likely originated in animals, but they have not yet determined how and when the initial transmission occurred. They also concluded that it is highly unlikely that the virus was leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan.
U.S. Intelligence Director Avril Haines recently testified before Congress that U.S. intelligence agencies have not determined the origin of the new coronavirus, but did not rule out the possibility that it was leaked from a Wuhan laboratory.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference that it was still necessary to investigate the possibility that the virus was leaked from a laboratory. He said at the time that experts investigating the source of the virus would follow up.
The new crown outbreak has killed more than 3.2 million people worldwide.
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