The World Health Organization confirmed, yesterday, that Washington had not provided any evidence to support US President Donald Trump's "speculation" that the source of the new Corona virus is a laboratory in Wuhan, China, the first epidemic in the world, and said that science is the focus of dealing with the crisis And not politics, and science is what should be at the heart of what is being exchanged with Chinese scientists on this issue, warning against expecting "a violent investigation into the violations that have been committed."
In detail, the organization's Director of Emergency, Michael Ryan, said during an online press conference from its headquarters in Geneva: “We have not obtained any specific information or evidence from the United States government related to the alleged source of the virus, so it is still, in our view, (just) speculation.” ».
US President Donald Trump had accused Beijing of reducing the risk of the virus earlier this year and of not cooperating fully with international experts, which endangered people's lives around the world, vowing to impose "punitive customs duties" on it.
And US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo renewed the campaign against Beijing last Sunday, stressing that there is "a huge number of evidence" that the source of the virus is a laboratory in Wuhan.
The Health Organization indicated that it does not have the physical evidence for the allegations of the American administration, noting that it is based exclusively on the scientific data available to it.
"Like every evidence-based organization, we would really like to receive any information about the source of the virus, if these data and evidence are available," he said. "It is up to the US government to decide whether it can share it, and when it can. But it is difficult for WHO to make an opinion." In the absence of information to support these accusations ».
He added, "We focus on the evidence we have, and the evidence we have from dismantling the genetic map, and from everything that has been transmitted to us that says the virus is of natural origin."
The official considered that «science should be the focus. Science will find the answers. ”
Scientists have advised the World Health Organization that the genome sequence shows that the virus is of "natural origin".
Corona virus is believed to have originated in bats before it is transmitted to humans via other organisms. It is important to identify this intermediary host, said the WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhof.
As countries begin to ease public isolation measures imposed to curb the spread of the virus, many hope to contain new sets of infections by tracking regular contact, with the help of mobile applications, and other technologies.
But Ryan said that these measures do not make traditional surveillance, that is, with people, redundant.
"We are very keen to confirm that the IT tools do not replace the basic public health workforce, which will be required for tracking, testing, isolation and quarantine," he said, praising the strategy pursued by both South Korea and Singapore.
He confirmed that the World Health Organization welcomed data on the latest clinical trials of the anti-viral drug Remedisfer, produced by Gilead Sciences, a pharmaceutical company, saying that there were "signs of hope" for its potential use for the treatment of Covid-19.
"We will have discussions with Gilead and the US administration on how to make this drug more widely available as more data emerges about its effectiveness," he said.
In the same context, the official Chinese media responded to the United States the day before yesterday, accusing the Trump administration of trying to divert attention from its "inefficiency" by reiterating allegations about the spread of the virus.
The comment, published by the Chinese newspaper "Global Times", published under the auspices of the People's Daily of the Communist Party of China, described the allegations that China concealed the extent of its virus outbreak as "baseless."
She described "deceptive" Mike Pompeo's allegations that there are intelligence agencies following "important" evidence that the virus came from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.
"The truth is, Pompeo has no evidence," the newspaper wrote. If Washington has strong evidence, it should allow research institutes and scientists to examine and verify them. ”
The Health Organization confirmed that it does not have the physical evidence for the American administration's allegations.