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The World Health Organization-led team investigating the origins of COVID-19 during a mission that has been tightly-controlled by its Chinese hosts visited a hospital on Saturday in the central city of Wuhan that treated early patients.
On its second day after two weeks in quarantine, the team went to Jinyintan Hospital, where doctors had collected samples from patients suffering from an unidentified pneumonia in late 2019.
“Important opportunity to talk directly w/ medics who were on the ground at that critical time fighting COVID!”, team member Peter Daszak said on Twitter.
2nd day on-the-ground in Wuhan meeting w/ leaders & staff at the famous Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital that treated large numbers of severe COVID cases early in the outbreak. Important opportunity to talk directly w/ medics who were on the ground at that critical time fighting COVID! Peter Daszak (@PeterDaszak) January 30, 2021
Only the wearing of masks and heightened health and movement checks mark the obvious differences the pandemic has made in the city where it all started.
The team is investigating the origins of COVID-19, with the WHO saying it's essential that they establish the pathway of the virus from animals to humans, so that they can prevent future outbreaks.
Foreign Minister Payne Urges CCP to Grant WHO Entry ‘Without Delay’
Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne has urged the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to grant the World Health Organisation (WHO) team investigating the origins to the COVID-19 pandemic access to China.
It follows reports from the WHO that Chinese officials are yet to finalize the necessary permissions for the group of specialists to enter as expected this week.
Payne said the Australian government had consistently sought transparency in relation to the origins of, and responses to the coronavirus. She also noted that the government hoped that the approvals needed for the WHO team’s travel to China could be issued “without delay”, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported.