US backs COVID-19 probe, distances itself from Wuhan lab theory
10 February, 2021
AMERICA distanced itself on Tuesday (Feb 9) from a theory propagated by former president Donald Trump that COVID-19 came from a Chinese laboratory and voiced support for WHO researchers.
A objective to China from the Environment Health Group said on Tuesday that it had didn't find the source behind the disease which has killed more than 2.3 million persons but said the laboratory hypothesis was "extremely unlikely".
The State Department - whose chief under Trump, Mike Pompeo, was a respected proponent of the laboratory theory - said it had been waiting for the entire findings from the WHO.
"I think instead of rush to conclusions that may be motivated by anything apart from science, you want to see where that info network marketing leads us, where that science potential clients us, and our conclusions will be predicated on that," STATE DEPT. spokesman Ned Selling price told reporters.
"We obviously support this investigation," he said.
Pompeo was a good sworn foe of Beijing and led the charge found in blaming China's communist leaders for COVID-19 at the same time when Trump faced heavy criticism for his handling of the pandemic in the home.
Pompeo pointed to China's early attempts to conceal instances and did not completely eliminate that SARS-CoV-2 virus premiered deliberately.
In findings released five times before President Joe Biden was sworn in, Pompeo's STATE DEPT. said america was aware that prior to the mass outbreak that several researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology fell ill with "symptoms regular with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illnesses".
Cost said the Jan 15 fact sheet was "clear that it had been inconclusive - it didn't offer credence to 1 theory over another".
Selling price, however, shared criticism that China concealed information.
"I think evidently the Chinese, at least heretofore, had not offered the requisite transparency that people need and, simply as importantly, the international network needs, in order that we can prevent these varieties of pandemics from ever happening again," Price said.
Asked if China experienced totally cooperated with the WHO crew, he said: "I think the jury's continue to out."
Trump accused the Who have to be beholden to China and ordered a good withdrawal of america from the UN physique, an actions immediately reversed by Biden.
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