WHO chief surprisingly says coronavirus origin question warrants further investigation


The World Health Organization on Tuesday released a report on the origins of the coronavirus that sparked the ongoing pandemic and how it may have first spread to humans.
There were no hard conclusions, but the report, drafted by a 34-member team of Chinese scientists and international experts who searched for clues in Wuhan, China, dismissed the theory that the virus may have first jumped to humans as a result of a laboratory accident as "extremely unlikely." However, in what The New York Times described as "an unexpected move," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the question deserves another look.
"I do not believe that this assessment was extensive enough ... although the team has concluded that a laboratory leak is the least likely hypothesis, this requires further investigation, potentially with additional missions involving specialist experts, which I am ready to deploy," Tedros said in prepared remarks during a briefing of member states.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The consensus in the scientific community still seems to be that the virus jumped from bats to an intermediary species that infected a human in nature, perhaps at a wet market, but there is a growing minority that believes the accidental lab leak theory deserves at least serious consideration. Read more at The New York Times and check out Tedros' full remarks here.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
The US-China trade war comes to Hollywood
Under the Radar China's retaliatory restrictions on foreign films will hurt the US film industry
By Genevieve Bates
-
Ione Skye's 6 favorite books about love and loss
Feature The actress recommends works by James Baldwin, Nora Ephron, and more
By The Week US
-
Book review: 'Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus' and 'When the Going Was Good: An Editor's Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines'
Feature The college dropout who ruled the magazine era and the mysteries surrounding Jesus Christ
By The Week US
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study finds
Speed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influence
Speed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreads
Speed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015
Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozens
Speed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study finds
Speed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cows
Speed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year
By Peter Weber, The Week US