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Mazvita Makuyana Correspondent
Discussions that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus emerged from a laboratory have escalated over the past few weeks, coinciding with the annual World Health Assembly, at which the World Health Organisation (WHO), and officials from nearly 200 countries discussed the Covid-19 pandemic.
After last year’s assembly, the WHO agreed to sponsor the first phase of an investigation into the pandemic’s origins, which took place in China early this year.
Scientists say SARS-CoV-2 probably has a natural origin, and was transmitted from an animal to humans.
However, a lab leak has not been ruled out, and many are calling for a deeper investigation into the hypothesis that the virus emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), in the Chinese city, where the first Covid-19 cases were reported.
On May 26, US President Joe Biden tasked the American Intelligence Community to join efforts to find SARS-CoV-2’s origins; whatever they might be, and report back in 90 days in May 2021.
If Joe Biden’s security staff are up to the mark, a new report on the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic will be on the president’s desk this week.
This follows several US scientists’ indications that they were no longer certain about the source of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
It will be intriguing to learn how Biden’s team answers the critically important questions that still surround the origins of Sars-CoV-2.
Did it emerge because of natural viral spillovers from bats to another animal, and then into humans? Or did it leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology?
If so, had it been enhanced to make it virulent?
These are important questions — to say the least. If the world is to prevent another pandemic, it would be useful to know how this one started.
However, given the paucity of new information the Biden’s team unearthed over the past three months — while the Chinese authorities have continued to provide little extra data — it is unlikely that hard answers will be provided this week.
Although allegations of a leak from Wuhan had been aired by former US President Donald Trump, little credence was given to the claim until May, when 18 leading scientists sent a letter to the journal, science in which they claimed both spillover and leak theories were equally plausible.
They also accused a recent World Health Organisation investigation at Wuhan of not giving a balanced consideration to both scenarios.
Now there are growing calls that the Covid-19 source-tracing should be conducted in multiple countries globally other than a single nation.
Scientists posit that the US should be one of the priority countries in the next stage of scientific investigations.
More reports have pointed to separate outbreaks in multiple places globally in the latter half of 2019.
Recent studies have shown that the US, and other countries showed signs of the virus and infections before the outbreak in China.
At least five states in the US alone had earlier Covid-19 infections before the first officially reported confirmed case in the country.
The US saw the most infections and deaths in the pandemic, and its fight against the outbreak has a flurry of unanswered questions.
But the origin-tracing work in the US was arguably inadequate.
China, on its part, now hopes that the WHO will treat the novel coronavirus origin-tracing work as a scientific issue; get rid of political interference, and actively and prudently promote tracing work continuously in multiple countries and regions around the globe.
Speaking at a press conference on the novel coronavirus origin-tracing work held by the State Council Information Office in Beijing, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) deputy head Zeng Yixin said, “What was done in the first stage of origin-tracing, especially by those that have reached a clear conclusion, should not be repeated.
“What should be carried out is the origin-tracing of early cases, molecular epidemiology, and intermediary hosts in multiple countries and regions based on extensive consultations among WHO member states.”
He added that a WHO team comprising international experts formed a joint body with Chinese experts for the Chinese part of the global study on the origins of the novel coronavirus.
“The team studied a massive amount of epidemic-related data and visited nine facilities, including Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, Huanan seafood market, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology, under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
“The team conducted extensive exchanges with local medical workers, lab researchers, scientists, and market managers. They also interviewed social workers, community workers, residents, and patients who had recovered,” Zeng said.
“Among the outcomes of the joint study, a coronavirus highly similar to the novel coronavirus in gene sequences was found in bats and pangolins. But the similarity is not enough to make it a direct ancestor of the novel coronavirus.
“The experts identified four hypotheses for the source of transmission of the novel coronavirus to the human population, including a direct zoonotic spillover, cold-chain food, an intermediary host species, and a laboratory-related incident.
“The joint study said that a laboratory incident is ‘extremely unlikely’ as the cause of Covid-19.”
Despite the first findings, and further calls that the Covid-19 source-tracing should be conducted in multiple countries globally other than a single nation, the US is once again playing its old trick of smearing China.
This comes as China rejected the proposal of the WHO on its second phase of the study to trace the origins of Covid-19.
Analysts are of the view that instead of helping trace the origins of the virus, the US is actually misleading the origin-tracing work deliberately.
Showing no respect to science and facts, the US blatantly seeks presumption of guilt and political manipulation.
Such malicious speculation reveals its arrogance towards science, and its sinister intention to suppress China under the pretext of origin-tracing.
At a time when the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic is still grim, Washington’s rhetoric and actions of inciting conflict, and separation, not only undermine international cooperation in the global Covid-19 fight, but are also highly irresponsible about the scientific study of the virus.
China’s rejection is reasonable.
It is on record that China has always maintained an open and transparent attitude on the origin-tracing issue, and has invited the WHO experts to China twice.
The WHO-China joint mission report concluded that lab leak is “extremely unlikely”, and there is a broad consensus in the international scientific community to this end.
Online Reporter