origin-covid-19 | ABS-CBN News

WHO report says 'very low' chance of frozen food COVID-19 origin

Jing Xuan Teng, Agence France-Presse
Posted at Mar 30 07:46 AM

The chances that COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan because of imported frozen food are "very low", international health experts said Monday, casting doubt on one of the main theories China has embraced for the cause of the first coronavirus outbreak in late 2019. Read more »

COVID origins still a mystery as WHO-China probe ends

Laurie Chen with Agence France-Presse bureaus
Posted at Feb 10 07:04 AM

A much-anticipated inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic wrapped up its mission in China on Tuesday with no breakthrough discovery, as investigators ruled out a theory that COVID-19 came from a lab while failing to identify which animal may have passed it to humans.   Read more »

Coronavirus: After Wuhan, it’s time for global response reset, says COVID-19 probe chief

Simone McCarthy, South China Morning Post
Posted at Feb 02 01:00 PM

Helen Clark says gaps in the early response in the central Chinese city and a delayed reaction elsewhere in the world point to a need for change. Every day counts in stopping an infectious disease of unknown origin, she says. Read more »

China says WHO coronavirus experts to visit from Thursday

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Jan 11 02:31 PM

The long-awaited mission -- which has been under discussion since last year -- is of great political significance at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated major countries worldwide, caused almost two million deaths and brought the global economy to a standstill. Read more »

A year after first death in China, coronavirus source still a puzzle

Leo Ramirez and Dan Martin, Agence France-Presse
Posted at Jan 10 12:10 PM

It is the world's most pressing scientific puzzle, but experts warn there may never be conclusive answers over the source of the coronavirus, after an investigative effort marked from the start by disarray, Chinese secrecy and international rancor.   Read more »

Coronavirus: China ‘ready and open’ for WHO team visit to Wuhan in origin quest

Zhuang Pinghui in Beijing, South China Morning Post
Posted at Jan 10 09:07 AM

A top Chinese health official says terms have been agreed but the start date is still being determined. The comments come after the WHO chief voices frustration at Beijing over travel dates. Read more »

WHO experts to wade into tricky territory in hunt for virus origins

Jing Xuan Teng, Agence France-Presse
Posted at Jan 06 11:24 AM

A year after the outbreak started, WHO experts are due in China for a highly politicised visit to explore the origins of the coronavirus, in a trip trailed by accusations of cover-ups, conspiracy and fears of a whitewash.   Read more »

China peddles falsehoods to obscure origin of COVID pandemic

Javier C. Hernández, The New York Times
Posted at Dec 07 11:58 AM

Facing global anger over their initial mishandling of the outbreak, Chinese authorities are now trying to rewrite the narrative of the pandemic by pushing theories that the virus originated outside China.   Read more »

American study finds signs of coronavirus in US before China outbreak

Linda Lew, South China Morning Post
Posted at Dec 02 12:44 PM

US CDC says blood samples taken in nine states before cases were reported in Wuhan tested positive for antibodies for the pathogen. The results indicate that infections might have happened in the western US earlier than previously thought, scientists say. Read more »

Mystery still shrouds COVID-19 origin

Paul Ricard, Agence France-Presse
Posted at Dec 01 01:01 PM

While many scientists are racing to find vaccines to tame the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, other researchers are probing the past, trying to unravel one of the greatest mysteries of the virus: exactly where it came from.   Read more »

Where did COVID-19 originate? These virus sleuths are assessing every theory

Simone McCarthy, South China Morning Post
Posted at Nov 28 03:41 PM

A group of battle-tested disease detectives, led by a US-based scientist with a history researching bat viruses in China, are stepping up to evaluate “every hypothesis” for the source of this virus, first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan nearly a year ago. Read more »

China offers glimpse inside lab near Wuhan virus origin

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Jul 09 09:35 PM

Chinese state media has offered a rare glimpse of the lab at the heart of coronavirus conspiracy theories, as it seeks to push back against claims the facility was the source of the global pandemic. Read more »

China lab rejects COVID-19 conspiracy claims, but virus origins still a mystery

David Stanway, Reuters
Posted at Apr 28 02:22 PM

SHANGHAI - Claims that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan have no basis in fact, the head of the lab told Reuters, adding that there were still no conclusive answers as to where the disease started.  Read more »