Experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) began their field investigation on the origin of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China, on Friday.
Having been released Thursday from 14 days of quarantine, the team members discussed in the morning with Chinese scientists before leaving their hotel to go to a hospital in Wuhan, the city where the epidemic began in late 2019.
The WHO confirmed Thursday that the investigators would go to the Wuhan Institute of Virology - equipped with high-security laboratories - which handled coronaviruses in particular.
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From the beginning of the pandemic, the institute was the subject of hypotheses according to which the virus could have escaped before contaminating the planet, though this theory is not supported by any tangible evidence at this time.
The dozen experts will also visit the Huanan market, the first outbreak where the Covid-19 epidemic broke out and where wild animals were sold live. It has been closed for more than a year.
"The team plans to visit hospitals, laboratories and markets," the WHO tweeted, adding that "they will speak with early responders and some of the first Covid-19 patients."
The team plans to visit hospitals, laboratories and markets. Field visits will include the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Huanan market, Wuhan CDC laboratory. They will speak with early responders and some of the first #COVID19 patients.https://t.co/Owd6GEBoAj
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 28, 2021
The Brussels Times
