An explosive UK documentary has revealed undercover footage of Chinese medics admitting they were pressured by government officials to stay quiet about the contagiousness of the coronavirus.
The ITV investigation, which aired today, showed how some senior medics in Wuhan were forced to stay silent on the human-to-human transmission of the virus.
Health officials were aware the coronavirus was causing human death in December 2019, well ahead of Chinese New Year celebrations in late January 2020 when the world s most populous country was gearing up for extensive internal travel.
Chinese women dressed in traditional costume known as Hanfu tour the Forbidden City in Beijing, China(Getty / Kevin Frayer)
A German scientist who is part of a small team of experts assembled by the World Health Organisation to investigate the origins of the coronavirus says they plan to sift through samples and medical data from China to help determine where the bug first jumped from animals to humans and which species it came from.
The search for the source of the new coronavirus has sparked claims of cover-ups and fuelled political tensions, particularly between the US administration of President Donald Trump and Beijing.
Most researchers think that the virus, also known as SARS-CoV-2, originated in animals in China, probably bats, and the WHO has put together a 10-person team to examine the science.