BEIJING An expert mission to China to probe the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic was in disarray Wednesday after Beijing denied entry to the World Health Organization team at the last minute despite months of painstaking negotiations. Ten experts were due to arrive in China this week for the delicate, highly politicised task of establishing how and where the virus jumped from animals to humans. But with a number of the team already in transit, China denied them entry visas, prodding WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, to say he was very disappointed . China is determined to control the origin story of the virus, which has killed more than 1.8 million people around the world and laid waste to global economies.
China blocks WHO team on way to probe origins of COVID-19 pandemic, says not just a visa issue Beijing foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said talks were continuing over the specific date arrangement of the expert group s visit, despite the months of negotiations already spent on setting up the trip Agence France-Presse January 06, 2021 18:26:58 IST File image of WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Image: Salvatore di Nolfi/EPA
An expert mission to China to probe the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic was in disarray Wednesday after Beijing denied entry to the World Health Organization team at the last minute despite months of painstaking negotiations.
Number 10 described the move as disappointing , insisting that it was vital the probe happens.
Tory MP and founder of Britain s China Research Group, Tom Tugendhat, accused Beijing of shameful behaviour . He said the failure to investigate puts everyone at risk of a repeat, and particularly those who are closest - the Chinese people.
And Sari Haven, of the Mercator Institute for China Studies think-tank, dismissed the regime s claim that a visa issue led to the team being denied entry. She said: Of course the decoy narrative becomes more difficult to maintain when the WHO team is snooping around.