Wuhan: A World Health Organisation-led team of experts investigating the origins of COVID-19 on Sunday visited the wholesale seafood market in Wuhan where the Novel Coronavirus infections were initially detected.
The team left the spot after one hour. They did not take any question from the media personnel. A member of the team flashed a thumbs-up sign when the reporters outside the market asked about the trip.
Ever since they completed their quarantine, the team has visited the healthcare facilities and markets, as well as an exhibition commemorating Wuhan’s COVID battle.
“Very important site visits today – a wholesale market first & Huanan Seafood Market just now,” Peter Daszak, a zoologist with the US group EcoHealth Alliance and a member of the WHO team, said in a tweet.
“Very informative & critical for our joint teams to understand the epidemiology of COVID as it started to spread at the end of 2019.”
The experts did not take questions from journalists. One flashed a thumbs-up sign when reporters asked how the trip was going.
Since being released from a two-week quarantine on Thursday, the team has visited hospitals and markets, as well as an exhibition commemorating Wuhan’s COVID battle, which included a 76-day lockdown of the city of 11 million.
A single visit by scientists is unlikely to confirm the virus’s origins. Pinning down an outbreak’s animal reservoir is typically an exhaustive endeavour that takes years of research, including taking animal samples, genetic analysis and epidemiological studies.
One possibility is that a wildlife poacher might have passed the virus to traders who carried it to Wuhan.
Wuhan seafood market has been closed since January last year. Wuhan had imposed a 76-day lockdown to fight against the virus last year.
