US intelligence concludes Coronavirus 'not
man-made: Covid-19 " is not manmade or genetically modified but we are
still investigating the virus' origins. In other words we have no idea about
its cause
China 'locks out' WHO from COVID-19 investigation
Meanwhile, China has strongly dismissed the possibility that the coronavirus pandemic originated in the lab.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Thursday that any claims that the coronavirus was released from a laboratory are "purely fabricated out of nothing." Geng cited the lab's director, Yuan Zhiming, as saying the lab strictly implements bio-security procedures that would prevent the release of any pathogen. Geng in the meantime did say the issue, "should be studied by scientists and professionals."
In February, a joint mission of Chinese and WHO experts visited Wuhan and other cities in China to assess Beijing's epidemic prevention and control efforts. But WHO investigators are not participating in the current inquiry into the virus origins being conducted in China.
Jasarevic emphasized to VOA that the results of such probes "are essential" to preventing further outbreaks. He said WHO continues to collaborate with "countries and other partners to identify gaps and research priorities for the control of COVID-19, including the eventual identification of the source of the virus in China."
WHO spokesman also weighed in on another critical issue with regard to the origin of COVID-19. Scientists suspect the killer virus jumped from animals to humans, possibly through an intermediate animal host. This is one of the biggest puzzle pieces in tracing the coronavirus origin.
In his email to VOA Friday, the WHO spokesman said since there is usually limited close contact between humans and bats, "It is more likely that transmission of the virus from bats to humans happened through another animal species, one that is more likely to be handled by humans."
The coronavirus disease COVID-19, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has taken over 230,000 human lives worldwide, according to a collection of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, and confirmed infection cases have reached 3.2 million.