Read more about China blocks entry of WHO team investigating origins of Covid-19 on Business Standard. Organisation issues rare rebuke
The expressed disappointment with for delaying the travel of experts to the Asian country to investigate the origin of the Covid-19 virus, in a rare instance of public criticism from the organization. Chinese officials have not yet finalized permission to allow WHO-appointed experts to enter the country even as some of them embarked on travel, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a briefing on Tuesday. The delay comes despite months of negotiation and planning between Chinese officials and the 10-member expert team. “I am very disappointed with this news given that two members had already begun their journeys and were not able to travel at the last minute,” Tedros said. “We are eager to get the mission underway as soon as possible.” The delay by Chinese authorities fuels concern that Beijing is obstructing efforts to trace the origins of a pandemic that has now killed over 1.8 million people worldwide. Stung by criticism that initially covered up the extent of the crisis, state media and government figures have been pushing the possibility that the pathogen did not emerge solely in the Asian country.
