Researchers from the World Health Organization (WHO) do not find very credible the statement that the dreaded coronavirus comes from a Chinese laboratory.

 

Team leader Peter Ben Embarek thinks it is a great scenario to make a film about, but not plausible as an explanation for the emergence of the new type of virus SARS-CoV-2.

A WHO team travelled to China last month to learn more about the origin of the virus that was first detected in the city of Wuhan, 1,000 kilometres south of Beijing, in late 2019.

The WHO has visited the Wuhan virological institute, which has been mentioned as a possible source of the virus, among others by the US ex-president Trump.

According to Embarek, the institute’s visit was essential to better understand where those stories come from. Since 2012, the institute has an extra secure department where viruses, including coronaviruses, are investigated.

It also has an even more strictly protected department where, among other things, the deadly infectious disease Ebola is being investigated. According to Embarek, the conversations in the institute have been “open and honest”.