US doubts WHO's Wuhan coronavirus probe; says 'will verify results via own intelligence'

The US on February 10 refused to accept the World Health Organization's report about the origin of the novel coronavirus that concluded Wednesday that the virus is unlikely to have leaked from a Chinese lab and is more likely to have jumped to humans from an animal. At a weekly press briefing, US State Department spokesperson, Ned Price asserted that the US will “verify the results” using its own intelligence. When asked by a reporter about his response to WHO’s statement on Wuhan that said that COVID-19 was not a result of a lab leak, Price said, “The Chinese have not offered the requisite transparency,” adding, “we will draw on information collected and analyzed by our own intelligence community to evaluate the report.” 

When asked whether there should be investigation into the origins elsewhere or the focus should remain on Wuhan, US State Department spokesperson Price responded, “I don’t think coronavirus originated elsewhere”. Commenting on WHO’s handling of the investigation, Price said “when the US is at the table, it can help shape institution, by re-engaging with the WHO, the United States will push for those reforms.”  Furthermore, he added, “we look forward to receiving the report and the data from the WHO investigation.” Price continued, “We have expressed our concerns regarding the need for full transparency and access from China and the WHO, access from China and the WHO to all information regarding the earliest days of the pandemic.” Price told reporters, casting doubts on the WHO investigation, “I think the jury's still out."

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China asks US to invite WHO

Meanwhile, condemning US remarks about the WHO investigation, member of the special WHO mission to China Wednesday said in a tweet, “President Joe Biden has to look tough on China, Please don't rely too much on US intelligence, increasingly disengaged under Trump & frankly wrong on many aspects.” Furthermore, he added that the WHO team “worked flat out under the most politically charged environment possible”.Meanwhile, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told state run press that the US like China, must adopt a transparent attitude and invite WHO experts to carry out research in the US. 

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