China announced on Monday that experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) will arrive this week to investigate the origin of the COVID-19.

WHO
(Photo : Naohiko Hatta - Pool/Getty Images)

WHO Experts to Arrive in China

The origin of the infectious and deadly COVID-19 that infected millions of people and claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands around the world remains a mystery until today.

The investigation was supposed to take place last year, but unfortunately, it did not happen as China refused to cooperate.

According to FOX News, China announced on Monday that experts from WHO will arrive Thursday this week. The National Health Commission also said that they will meet with Chinese counterparts but it did not give more details.

However, it is not clear if they will be traveling to the central Chinese city, Wuhan, where the virus was first detected in 2019. It can be remembered that negotiations for the visit have long been underway.

In fact, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed disappointment last week over delays.

He said that experts or members of the international scientific team already departed from their home countries as part of an arrangement between the WHO and the Chinese government.

Read also: Early Warnings Ignored: WHO and China Disregard Post-SARS Guidelines

Chinese Government Controls Research About the Virus

In a report from the Associated Press, they found out that Chin's government has strictly controlled all research at home into the origins of the virus. They also said that the state-owned media have played up reports that suggest the virus could have originated elsewhere.

The WHO Director-General released a statement and said that China was open to a visit but that it was still working on "necessary procedures and relevant concrete plans," After this, Australia and other countries have called for an investigation into the origins of the virus.

Hua Chunying, the spokesperson of China and director of the Foreign Ministry Information, said that China's disease experts are currently busy, with multiple small-scale clusters and outbreaks reported in the past couple of weeks. She also said their experts are wholeheartedly in the stressful battle to control the epidemic.

Read also: WHO Warns Global Coronavirus Pandemic is Getting Worse

U.N. Supports WHO's Effort To Investigate the Origin of the Virus

Meanwhile, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres fully supports Dr. Tedros and the WHO's effort to get the team in there.

Dujarric said, "It's very important that as the WHO is in the lead in fighting the pandemic, that it also has a leading role in trying to look back at the roots of this pandemic so we can be better prepared for the next one."

They are also hopeful that China's reported comments that it is working with the World Health Organization and looking for a smooth visit will happen. This investigation will help not only the WHO but everyone understand to understand the origin of the virus.

This could even help researchers and experts to even develop a more effective vaccine that will ultimately end the global pandemic.