Most scientists suspect that the coronavirus originated in bats, but the exact route by which it first jumped into people â via an intermediary animal or in some other way â has not yet been determined. It typically takes decades to narrow down the natural source of an animal virus like Ebola or Sars.
Tedros said that âchecking what happened, especially in our labs, is importantâ to nailing down if the pandemic had any laboratory links.
âWe need information, direct information on what the situation of this lab was before and at the start of the pandemic,â the WHO chief said, adding that Chinaâs cooperation was critical. âIf we get full information, we can exclude (the lab connection).â