India supports WHO study on Covid-19 origin, calls it ‘important first step’

India on Friday came out in favour of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) global study on the origin of Covid-19 even as ‘where, when and how did the virus that causes the disease originate’ remains a mystery.

Extending support to the WHO’s investigation into the Covid-19 origin, an official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement calling it an “an important first step”.

“The WHO convened global study on the origin of Covid-19 is an important first step. It stressed the need for next phase studies as also for further data and studies to reach robust conclusions. The follow-up of the WHO report and further studies deserve the understanding and cooperation of all,” the official statement read.

A WHO-led team had earlier spent four weeks in and around Wuhan in January and February with Chinese researchers said in a report in March that the virus had probably been transmitted from bats to humans through another animal, and that “introduction through a laboratory incident was considered to be an extremely unlikely pathway.”

Now, the United States has demanded the WHO to carry out a second phase of its investigation into the origins of the novel coronavirus, with independent experts given full access to original data and samples in China.

In the past few days, the theory that the novel coronavirus emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in China, which was once dismissed, has suddenly gained steam with US President Joe Biden ordering a review of Covid-19 origins.

The initial WHO study was “insufficient and inconclusive,” the US mission to the UN in Geneva said in a statement on Thursday, calling for what it called a timely, transparent and evidence-based second probe to be conducted, including in China.

“It is critical that China provides independent experts full access to complete, original data and samples relevant to understanding the source of the virus and the early stages of the pandemic,” the US statement said.

The move by the US President resulted in a strong pushback from China. China has accused the US of “spreading conspiracy theories and disinformation such as a laboratory leak” while asking Joe Biden to open its own virology facilities to scrutiny.

China, through remarks by a representative at its embassy in the United States, said on Thursday it supported “a comprehensive study of all early cases of Covid-19 found worldwide and a thorough investigation into some secretive bases and biological laboratories all over the world.”

Mike Ryan, WHO’s top emergency expert, told its annual meeting of health ministers on Wednesday: “We’ve had consultations informally with many member states to look at what happens in the next phase. And we will continue to have those discussions in the coming weeks.”

(With inputs from Reuters)