WHO Inquiry Rules Out Covid-19 Came From Chinese Lab

Wuhan, China (AFP/Xinhua) - A much-anticipated inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic wrapped up its mission in China on Tuesday with no breakthrough discovery, as investigators ruled out a theory that COVID-19 came from a lab while failing to identify which animal may have passed it to humans.

Scientists have concluded that it was impossible the virus was man-made, said Liang Wannian, another member of the WHO-China joint study team.

There was no novel coronavirus in the Wuhan lab at all, so how could the virus leak from the lab? Liang said.

It remains unclear which species first transmitted COVID-19 to humans, said Liang.

The WHO mission — which China repeatedly delayed — was dogged by fears of a whitewash, with the US demanding a ''robust'' probe into the origins of the pandemic in late 2019, and China firing back with a warning not to ''politicize'' the investigation.

During the closely monitored mission, which included a visit to an exhibition celebrating China's recovery, reporters were largely kept at arm's length from the experts.

Liang, supported by WHO expert Ben Embarek, said there was ''no indication'' the sickness was circulating in Wuhan before December 2019 when the first official cases were recorded.

Embarek, who said identifying the virus's pathway from animals to humans remains a ''work in progress'', also scotched a controversial theory that the virus had leaked from a lab, calling it ''extremely unlikely.”

Experts identified four hypotheses for the source of the transmission of the novel coronavirus to the human population, including direct zoonotic spillover, an intermediary host species, the food chain, and a laboratory-related incident, said Embarek.