Germany calls on China to allow further investigations into COVID origins

German Health Minister Jens Spahn called on China to make it possible for investigations into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic to continue, saying more information was needed.

Speaking during a visit to the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva on Thursday, Spahn also announced a 260 million euro ($307 million) donation to WHO’s ACT-Accelerator programme, which aims to ensure the entire world, including poorer countries, receive coronavirus vaccines and tests.

“I call on China to make it possible for the investigations into the origins of COVID to be continued,” he said.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus will share proposals for a phase 2 study into the origins of the coronavirus with member states on Friday, its emergency director Mike Ryan said.

“We look forward to working with our Chinese counterparts on that process and the director-general will outline measures to member states” on Friday, Ryan told a news conference in Geneva on Thursday.

Earlier, Tedros told reporters that investigations into the origins of COVID-19 in China were being hampered by the lack of raw data on the first days of its spread there. 

Photo: A double exposure picture shows a woman wearing a mask in an attempt to protect herself from a coronavirus contagion, superimposed over a Chinese flag in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. EPA-EFE/ALEX PLAVEVSKI