SOMETHING TO HIDE?

China Blocks WHO Coronavirus Investigation Team From Entry at Last Minute

It took months of negotiations for Beijing to agree to allow a team of WHO investigators into the country with the aim of probing the how the pandemic began.

The long-awaited World Health Organization investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic was set to begin this week—but China has abruptly blocked the WHO team from entry, even though two members of the investigative team were already en route. It took months of negotiations for Beijing to agree to allow a team of WHO investigators into the country with the aim of probing how the pandemic began. WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday he was “very disappointed” that China had failed to arrange visa clearances “given that two members had already begun their journeys and others were not able to travel at the last minute.” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told BBC News that “there might be some misunderstanding” between the two parties and insisted: “There’s no need to read too much into it.”