China rejected World Health Organization (WHO) plans to conduct a second investigation into the origin of the coronavirus, including a theory that says it leaked from a laboratory.
Speaking at a press conference at the State Information Council, Chinese National Health Commission deputy minister Zeng Yixin said he was surprised that the WHO had suggested the team return to places in downtown Wuhan they had visited earlier this year.
Zheng Yixin said that they would not accept the plan which was deemed to ignore common sense and go against science.
Meanwhile, according to a group of top Chinese science officials briefing in Beijing on Thursday, they disagree with the theory that the Covid virus was caused by a leak from a laboratory, but instead it most likely spread from animals.
They praised previous reports from the WHO that showed the cause of the outbreak was from animals, and found the hypothesis that it was due to a leak from a laboratory to be highly unlikely.
"Wuhan laboratories have never had a virus," said Liang Wannian, an epidemiologist who leads a team of Chinese experts and also works with the WHO.
Earlier this month, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged China to work better together in the institution’s research into the origins of the virus.
