Beijing rejected the warning issued by the United States regarding the mission of the World Health Organization (WHO) team in China, accusing the new administration under President Joe Biden of attempting to "politicize" the investigation into the origins of the novel coronavirus.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters that China hopes the United States can "respect the facts and science, respect the hard work of the WHO expert team," and allow them to operate "free from political interference." White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated on Wednesday that Washington "will assess the credibility of the report once it is completed."
Experts from the World Health Organization left their hotel in Wuhan, China, on Thursday, where they had undergone a two-week quarantine, before starting their field investigation in China to determine the source of the novel coronavirus.
Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and regions since the initial cases were discovered in China in December 2019. The number of deaths worldwide due to COVID-19 is rising at an unprecedented rate, with more than 18,000 fatalities recorded in a single day as more infectious variants continue to spread in new countries.
As the race for COVID-19 vaccines intensifies, the pandemic situation worsens day by day, with the total number of infections worldwide surpassing 100 million. The World Health Organization announced on Wednesday that the British variant has been detected in 70 countries, while the South African variant has been reported in 31 countries.
In total, the world has recorded 2.16 million deaths due to COVID-19, increasing pressure on governments to contain the situation.
