WHO team arrives in Wuhan for probe
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) mission to trace the origins of Covid-19 got off to a rocky start on Thursday, after two members of the 15person delegation were denied entry to China after failing to clear health screening procedures, according to reports. The two experts were stopped from boarding a plane to Wuhan after testing positive for Covid-19 antibodies in blood-based serology tests during transit in Singapore, even though they tested negative for Covid-19 in swab tests. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian sidestepped questions about the two scientists who were denied entry and how long the group members will be quarantined, but said their visas will be valid “long enough for them to conduct their work in China”.
BEIJING/LONDON: The World Health Organization’s (WHO) mission to trace the origins of Covid-19 got off to a rocky start on Thursday, with two members of the 15-person delegation denied entry to China after failing to clear health screening procedures, according to reports.
The two experts were stopped from boarding a plane to the city of Wuhan after testing positive for Covid-19 antibodies in bloodbased serology tests during transit in Singapore, even though they tested negative for Covid-19 in swab tests, Dow Jones reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. The WHO later confirmed that two scientists were stuck in the city-state as video showed the others arriving in Wuhan around noon.
The development came as China on Thursday reported its first Covid-19-related death in eight months while it logged the highest single-day tally of 138 new infections since March last year. More than 28 million people are under lockdown in the north of the country.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian sidestepped questions about the two scientists who were denied entry and how long the group members will be quarantined, but said their visas will be valid “long enough for them to conduct their work in China”.
“The international experts team will undergo quarantine in Wuhan, during which time they will conduct video conference with Chinese experts,” Zhao told a regular briefing in Beijing on Thursday afternoon.
The experts will work with Chinese scientists to determine the source of the pandemic, as they still store the strains for analysis and study purposes, Ihor Perehinets, a technical adviser at the WHO’s European office, said at a media briefing.
UK study: Past case gives immunity for 5 months People who have been infected with Covid-19 are immune to contracting the virus again for at least five months, according to a major study by Public Health England (PHE), which examined more than 6,500 people between June and December last year. The study, however, cautions that those with such immunity may still be able to carry the virus in their noses and throats and therefore pose a risk of transmitting it to others.
‘Researchers find Covid variant unique to Kenya’
Scientists have discovered a coronavirus variant in Kenya that is yet to be detected elsewhere in the world, the Daily Nation newspaper reported, citing Charles Agoti, a researcher at the Kenya Medical Research Institute. The variant was picked up in the Taita Taveta county.