07.04.2023
After new clues showed that the new coronavirus originated in nature in March this year, the WHO asked China to provide all relevant information, otherwise, all speculation about the source of the new coronavirus will continue.
(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) The World Health Organization believes that China must have more data that will help decipher the origin of the new coronavirus. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus asked China to share all relevant important information. He said, “until there is no way to get information from China, all speculation about the origin of the new crown will exist.” With the data, we will know “what happened or how it happened”, “that’s why we have been insisting that China cooperate on this point”.
More than 3 years ago, the new crown epidemic broke out, and since then, the fierce debate about its origin has not stopped.lab leakOr the natural virus jumps from animals to humans. The two theories coexist at the same time, and they are irreconcilable. Not only are there differences among scientific workers, but some agencies under the US government, including intelligence agencies, also disagree.The origin of the new crown draws different conclusions.China firmly denieslab leak theory. The Chinese government also worries about being blamed for the fallout from the global pandemic. In this context, in the narrative of Chinese propaganda tools, the virus may have originated abroad, not in China.
New research supports the natural origin of the new coronavirus
Last month, people found new evidence that the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan had sold civet cats(scientific name: raccoon dogs, raccoon dogs), and it is now known that civet cats can carry and transmit coronaviruses that are very similar to the new coronavirus. The first human case of COVID-19 infection was discovered in the Huanan Seafood Market that year.
In mid-March this year, by chance, WHO researchers obtained these genetic data in an international database that was only open for a short period of time. They said that the new data supports the theory that the virus originated from animals in nature, that is, it may be found in seafood. In the market, the virus carried by wild animals is transmitted to humans. However, the researchers also said that the current data is not enough to conclusively confirm the above theory.
Maria Van Kerkhove (Maria Van Kerkhove), head of the WHO’s new crown epidemic project team, told reporters on Thursday (April 6) that the new information only provides “clues” rather than clear “answers”. She said the data collected in January and February 2020 should have been shared three years ago. “Without information, without data to conduct a substantive assessment, it is difficult for us to give a specific answer. At the moment, we cannot give a specific answer on the origin of the new crown.”
She expressed the belief that China’s “remarkable scientists” have done more scientific research and collected more important data. “We know that there is more information out there,” “We need scientists, public health people, and officials to share these data. This is not a game.”
Share raw data now, America should do the same
In the foreword to Thursday’s issue of Science, van Kerkhoff wrote,She believes China still has data it hasn’t sharedincluding data on wild and farmed animals traded in the South China Seafood Market in Wuhan, data on human and animal testing in Wuhan and across the country, and the operation of the Wuhan coronavirus laboratory.
She wrote that “for example, audit data from readily available laboratories were not shared,” and she asked China to share all data on the new coronavirus “immediately.”
Van Kerkhoff also asked the United States to provide raw data for the findings that support the laboratory leak theory, which were released not long ago.
At the same time, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized the importance of tracing the origin of the new coronavirus, pointing out that only by determining the origin of the virus can we effectively prevent future global epidemics. He said,Official statistics show thatthe new crown epidemic has killed nearly 7 million people worldwide, and the actual death toll is several times higher, so,The traceability of the new crown is also a “moral obligation”. “We have to get an answer beyond even reasonable doubt,” he said.
(comprehensive report)
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