Full Report on WHO Mission to Wuhan on Origins of COVID-19 to Be Released Tuesday

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The full version of the report on the results of the World Health Organisation (WHO) expert mission to China’s Wuhan investigating the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to be released on Tuesday at 16:00 CET (14:00 GMT) at a virtual press conference.

Media representatives can attend the virtual event and communicate with the experts about the report findings. A link to the report is set to be shared with global media half an hour prior to the press briefing.

The first cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. In January 2020, an international team of infectious disease experts was tasked by the WHO with exploring key sites in Wuhan and investigating the origins of the virus. The investigation lasted for a month, during which the team visited a laboratory, hospitals and markets searching for clues.

Earlier in March, it was reported that the WHO had scrapped its plans to release an interim report on the mission ahead of publishing the full one. According to a draft copy obtained by Sputnik, the experts concluded that it is “extremely unlikely” that SARS-CoV-2 originated in a Wuhan laboratory. The more likely scenario was that the virus crossed into humans from an intermediary animal, the draft report said.

Sourse: sputniknews.com