Suspect charged after Vancouver car ramming leaves 11 dead    Suspect in killing of general claims he was paid by Ukraine    North Korea confirms troop deployment to Russia for first time    Rock & Roll Hall of Fame picks Outkast but not Oasis    400-800 year old giant coral colony discovered within AMAALA waters in the Red Sea    Makkah police arrest Yemeni and Egyptian suspects of fake Hajj campaign    Kafalah grants 1,900 loan guarantees worth over SR4.8 billion to SMEs during 1Q 2025    Council of Senior Scholars reaffirms performing Hajj without a permit is a sinful act    HR Ministry launches 'Ajeer Al-Hajj' service for seasonal work during Hajj 2025    stc reports strong first-quarter 2025 results with 11% rise in net profit    King and Crown Prince offer condolence to Iranian president over the deadly port explosion    Saudi Awwal Bank records SR2.1 billion net profit after zakat and income tax for 1Q25    Virgin Atlantic celebrates one month of nonstop service between London and Riyadh    Al Ahli cruise past Buriram into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Duran leads Al Nassr past Yokohama Marinos into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi orchestra to perform at Sydney Opera House in May    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



WHO team blocked from entering China to study origins of COVID-19
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 06 - 01 - 2021

The World Health Organization said that China has blocked the arrival of a team investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, in a rare rebuke from the UN agency.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said two scientists on the United Nations team had already left their home countries for Wuhan when they were told that Chinese officials had not approved the necessary permissions to enter the country.
The arrangements had been jointly agreed with China in advance.
"I am very disappointed with this news," Tedros told a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday. "I have been in contact with senior Chinese officials and I have once again made clear that the mission is a priority for WHO and the international team."
Tedros said WHO was "eager to get the mission underway as soon as possible" and that he had been given assurances that Beijing was speeding up the internal procedure for "the earliest possible deployment."
Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of WHO's health emergencies program said there was an issue with visas and one team member had already returned home. The other was waiting in transit in a third country.
WHO officials have long been negotiating with Beijing to allow a team of global scientists access to key sites to investigate the origin of the virus — first detected in Wuhan in December 2019 — and its likely jump from an unidentified host species to humans.
In May, WHO agreed to hold an inquiry into the global response to the pandemic after more than 100 countries signed a resolution calling for an independent probe.
Ryan said the team hoped it was "just a logistical and bureaucratic issue" that can be resolved in "good faith in the coming hours and recommence the deployment of the team as soon as possible."
In a press briefing Wednesday, spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hua Chunying, said China had "always held an open, transparent and responsible attitude" on tracing the origin of the virus.
Hua said that China had previously welcomed WHO experts into the country and said that the UN investigation team and Chinese experts have "maintained frequent interactions" including four video meetings between October and December.
"In order to ensure that the international expert group that comes to China can work smoothly, it is needed to fulfill the necessary procedures and make relevant specific arrangements. The two sides are still negotiating about this," said Hua.
Marion Koopmans, a Dutch virologist who heads the Erasmus Medical Centre's Department of Viroscience in Rotterdam and is part of the investigation team heading to China, said that they were "ready to go."
Koopmans said that they have been told nothing is off limits while in China and said the team will be working in collaboration with their Chinese colleagues "looking at the data, talking to people with expertise, and concluding from what's been done, and what can be built on."
She said it was important to understand the origins of how the virus made the leap to humans because there is "no country that doesn't have the risk of disease emergence. It's something we need to understand, so the whole world can prepare."
"We really need to have patience and not judge. It's meticulous work, it will take time," Koopmans said. — Courtesy CNN


Clic here to read the story from its source.