The World Health Organization stated on Friday that any factual conclusions can not be drawn on the origin of COVID-19 as the investigations are underway. The statement was based on the WHO mission to Wuhan in China, which is suspected to be the place of origin. 

More than one year after the first case of COVID-19 was reported in the Chinese city, a team of WHO officials arrived to commence the investigations on January 14, who were restricted to a hotel for a mandatory 14-day quarantine. 

China is prepared for the scrutiny the expert team of WHO scientists will bring to its virus narrative. Beijing has maintained its stance about the pandemic starting outside of its national borders.

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“All hypotheses are on the table. And it is definitely too early to come to a conclusion of exactly where this virus started, either within or without China,” said WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan.

Michael Ryan, the emergency director of WHO said at a press conference, “All hypotheses are on the table. And it is definitely too early to come to a conclusion of exactly where this virus started, either within or without China. There are different scientific observations in different parts of the world, all of that is very important because it builds up a picture.”

However, he diplomatically added, “This is a big jigsaw puzzle and you cannot tell what the image says by looking at one piece in a 10,000-piece jigsaw puzzle.”

Since the start of the pandemic, the deadly virus has infected tens of millions and killed over two million people. Moreover, it has put a massive strain on the global economic model with a series of lockdowns across the world. 

The WHO stated that tracing the pathway of the virus from animals to humans is vital to prevent any such future outbreaks.

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It says the probe should rightly start where the first cases were discovered, and follow the trail of clues from there.

Michael Ryan said, “Let’s step back, let’s follow the evidence, let’s follow the science. Our team is on the ground, they are having a good experience working with our Chinese colleagues. We are working through the data. The data will lead us to the next phase of where we have to go next to look at the origins of this virus. It is too early to come to any conclusion, but we believe we are making some progress and we hope to continue to do so in the interest of public health in the future.”