Beijing: China said on Monday that a group of experts from the WHO are due to arrive in the country on Thursday to probe the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, ending the uncertainty and delay which drew sharp criticism from the world health body.
Experts from the WHO will conduct a field visit to China on January 14, the state-run CGTN quoted China’s National Health Commission as saying in a report.
The team’s visit to China, especially to Wuhan where the virus first emerged in December last year, has become a bone of contention as Beijing, which questions the widely-held view about the virus’ origins in Wuhan, had delayed granting permission the 10-member team of experts.
On January 9, Zeng Yixin, the deputy head of the National Health Commission (NHC) told the media here that the exact time of the team’s arrival in Wuhan was still under negotiations.
China and the World Health Organization (WHO) have reached a consensus on specific arrangements of the investigation with four video conferences, Zeng said.
Once the WHO experts complete their procedures and finalise the schedule, Chinese experts will go to Wuhan with them to conduct the investigation, Zeng said.
