More information and research are needed to investigate the possibility that a laboratory incident was the source of the coronavirus strain that set off the pandemic, World Health Organization advisers have said in a report.
Review of all activities at the laboratory studying coronaviruses in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak began, would be needed to determine whether it played a role in releasing the virus into the world, the WHO’s Scientific Advisory Group on the Origins of Novel Pathogens said Thursday in its first full report since forming in October. Further study of a market that’s also been identified as a possible source are also necessary, the report said.
"There has not been any new data made available to evaluate the laboratory as a pathway of SARS-CoV-2 into the human population and recommends further investigations into this and all other possible pathways,” the report said. The group met in person for the first time last week in Geneva.
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