A passerby in the city of Wuhan in China, September 29, 2020. -

STR / AFP

The investigation into the origin of the coronavirus was due to start these days in China.

But the team of ten scientists sent by the WHO on the spot found itself unable to begin its investigation, having not received all the necessary visas from Beijing.

"Today we learned that Chinese officials have not yet finalized the necessary authorizations for the team's arrival in China," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the WHO.

"I am very disappointed with this news, given that two members had already started their trip and others were not able to travel at the last minute", he added in a very rare movement of humor to against Beijing.

Agreement and disagreement

The head of the UN agency assured that the departure of the experts, "in the last 24 hours", to China was "in accordance with the provisions jointly developed by the WHO, the Chinese government and the countries that l 'team had to cross to get to Wuhan'.

“We worked closely with our colleagues in China to send the team.

And we understood that the team was going to start deploying today, ”explained Michael Ryan, WHO's health emergency manager, also present.

"I have been in contact with senior Chinese officials and once again made it clear that the mission is a priority for WHO and the international team," he added, saying he was "impatient to launch the mission as quickly as possible ”.

"I have been assured that China is speeding up the internal procedure for the fastest possible deployment," he said.

A sensitive visit

Michael Ryan explained that it was a question of visas.

“We hope it is just a logistical and bureaucratic problem that we can resolve quickly,” he said, explaining that one of the two experts had to turn back while the other waited. in a third country.

A little over a year after the discovery of the first cases in the Chinese region of Wuhan, these ten eminent scientists chosen by the WHO, after a long selection process, must go to China to try to trace the origins of the virus in order to find out how it was transmitted to human beings.

But this visit is ultra-sensitive for the Chinese regime, anxious to avoid any responsibility for the epidemic which has killed more than 1.8 million people on the surface of the globe.

So much so that the visit takes on the appearance of a secret mission.

Its dates had not even been specified, the WHO having referred until now simply "the first week of January".

Despite this last-minute disappointment, the senior WHO official said he was convinced the problems could be resolved in the "hours to come".

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