The World Health Organization once again reiterated on Friday that the new coronavirus has natural origins. This comes after US President Donald Trump’s claim that he has seen evidence of its origin in a Chinese lab.
According to Scientists, the killer virus jumped from animals to humans. It emerged in China late last year from a market in Wuhan selling exotic animals for meat.
On Thursday, Trump claimed that he had seen proof that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the source of the outbreak. But he refused to give details.
Coronavirus has natural origins WHO confirms
During a a virtual press conference, when asked about Trump’s claim, WHO emergencies chief Michael Ryan stressed that the UN health agency had listened again and again to numerous scientists who have looked at the sequences of the virus.
“We are assured that this virus is natural in origin,” Ryan stated.
The WHO said on Friday that it wanted to be invited to take part in investigations related to the animal origins of the pandemic which has killed roughly 230,000 people worldwide.
“What is important is that we establish what that natural host for this virus is,” Ryan said, stressing the need to understand “how the animal-human species barrier was breached.”
US intelligence saying Covid19 is natural, origin and Trump saying he’s seen evidence it came from the Wuhan lab, is not contradictory.
In fact it answers a lot of questions. Sloppy Chinese security allowed a natural virus being studied in their lab to escape and infect humans.
— Patribotics (@patribotics) April 30, 2020
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus meanwhile retaliated against criticism thrown at his organisation, Trump in particular. Earlier President Trump had suspended Washington’s funding to WHO after he accused the UN agency of downplaying the seriousness of the outbreak and kowtowing to China.
The Alert was provided by WHO
Tedros said that WHO had sounded the highest level of alert by declaring that the COVID-19 outbreak. This constituted a “public health emergency of international concern” on January 30. At that time there were no deaths and only 82 cases were registered outside China.
The WHO also updated recommendations on appropriate travel measures amid the outbreak. And to consider the balance between benefits and unintended consequences. The consequences such as the difficulties of transportation of humanitarian aid when so many flights are grounded.
