COVID origins still a mystery as WHO-China probe ends

A much-anticipated inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic wrapped up its mission in China on Feb. 9 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.

It remains unclear which species first transmitted COVID-19 to humans, said Liang Wannian, who headed up the Chinese contingent of an inquiry carried out jointly with World Health Organization experts.

The WHO mission - which China repeatedly delayed - was dogged by fears of a whitewash, with the U.S. 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".

As investigators have struggled to pinpoint the origins of a virus that has now killed more than 2.3 million people, governments continue to grapple with its daily consequences.

Vaccination campaigns are gaining pace worldwide, with Iran the latest country to begin a rollout of Russia's Sputnik V jab.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani dedicated the drive to the "memory of the martyrdom of health workers", as medics at Tehran's Imam...

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