COVID-19 may have passed from bats to humans through another animal: WHO

A joint WHO-China study on the origins of COVID-19 says that the virus was probably transmitted from bats to humans through another animal and that a lab leak was “extremely unlikely” as a cause, the Associated Press reported.

The reported findings match what WHO officials have said in the past about their conclusions following a Jan-Feb visit to China.

Many questions remain unanswered, and the team proposed further research in every area except the lab leak hypothesis, the Associated Press reported, citing a draft copy it had obtained.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus acknowledged receipt of the report from the independent experts but declined to give details, telling a Geneva news briefing: “All hypotheses are on the table and warrant complete and further studies.”

The 400-page report, drawn up by the team which carried out a mission to the central Chinese city of Wuhan where the virus was first encountered in late 2019, is to be issued on Tuesday after diplomats from WHO’s 194 member states are briefed on its findings, Tedros said.

Germany’s international development minister Gerd Mueller, speaking to the same briefing after holding talks with Tedros, welcomed China’s cooperation with the probe.

The US expects the WHO-led investigation to require further study of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, perhaps including a return visit to China, a senior US official told reporters last week.

(Edits by EP News Bureau)