Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan where an international expert team from the World Health Organization joined Chinese colleagues to carry out joint scientific study into the origins of COVID-19 in January 2021. WHO says it is still waiting for China to fulfill its “moral and scientific” obligation to share data it holds on the origins of the virus. File photo by Roman Pilipey/EPA-EFE
Dec. 31 (UPI) — The World Health Organization marked the fifth anniversary of the emergence of COVID-19 on Tuesday by reiterating its call for China to release the data it holds and allow outside access to help the international scientific community get to the bottom of the virus that sparked a global pandemic.
Recalling the day the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission first reported cases of “viral pneumonia” in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the United Nations’ agency for global public health said in a news release that the world still needed answers to ensure it was “better prepared for the next pandemic than we were for COVID-19.”
“We continue to call on China to share data and access so we can understand the origins of COVID-19. This is a moral and scientific imperative. Without transparency, sharing, and cooperation among countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics,” WHO said.
“As we mark this milestone, let’s take a moment to honor the lives changed and lost, recognize those who are suffering from COVID-19 and long COVID, express gratitude to the health workers who sacrificed so much to care for us, and commit to learning from COVID-19 to build a healthier tomorrow.”
China rejected the call from WHO, insisting it had been completely transparent in its handling of COVID-19, shared more data and research findings and done more to advance global understanding of the origin of the virus than any other nation.
“Since the outbreak of COVID-19 five years ago, China has shared information on the outbreak and genome sequence of the virus with WHO and the international community at the earliest time possible, and has shared with others our control and clinical experience without reservation, making great contribution to the global effort of fighting against COVID-19,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a press briefing in Beijing.
“On the origins-tracing of COVID-19, China follows the spirit of science, openness, and transparency, actively supports and participates in global science-based origins-tracing, and firmly opposes any form of political manipulation.”
Mao said China was the only country that had invited WHO expert groups to its soil to conduct joint origins studies and organized multiple events for its experts to share progress on origins tracing with WHO.
She claimed WHO had stated on multiple occasions that the Chinese side granted full access to all sites, personnel and material they requested when conducting study in China, and that the level of openness and transparency in China is what they hadn’t expected.
The international science community is now providing increasing clues that pinpoint possible COVID origins to various parts of the world, said Mao, adding that what was required was origins-tracing work on a global basis in multiple countries and regions.
“China stands ready to work with all parties to continue advancing global science-based origins-tracing study.”
Wuhan’s Hunan Seafood Wholesale wet market has long been considered the most likely origin of the coronavirus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic by authorities around the world, including the United States’ National Intelligence Council, which accused Beijing of impeding the global investigation, resisting information-sharing and blaming other countries, including the United States.
