WHO team to reach Wuhan from Singapore to investigate the origin of the novel coronavirus

A World Health Organization (WHO) team of international experts will arrive in the Chinese city of Wuhan on Thursday from Singapore to investigate the origin of the coronavirus novel.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a general news conference in Beijing on Tuesday. However, he did not respond to a question about whether he would have to go into custody after the team arrived and did not give further details on the mission journey.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanam Ghebreas said his organization was looking forward to working with China to identify the source of the virus and how it entered the human population. He had previously said he was “very disappointed” when experts denied him entry earlier this month, forcing two members of the team to withdraw.

China says there is a “misunderstanding”. The coronavirus was first detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019 and has since spread worldwide, infecting more than 90,500,000 people and killing nearly 2 million.