China opposes new WHO investigation into origin of coronavirus

China on Friday rejected a call from the World Health Organization (WHO) to conduct new research into the origin of Covid-19 on Chinese territory.

“We oppose the politicization of the origin investigation,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu. “We support research that is science-based.”

The deputy minister said that China is sticking to the WHO-China “joint report” released after the experts’ visit to Wuhan in January.

In 2019, the nCoV virus probably originated at an animal market in Wuhan, a city in the Chinese province of Hubei, with 11 million inhabitants. The market was closed. However, the exact source has not yet been identified and can therefore not be switched off.

According to a team of Chinese scientists, the virus was first transmitted from a snake to a human, writes the South China Morning Post. That a reptile would be at the basis would be a first. Usually, mammals are the spreaders.