China denies entry to WHO investigators

The head of the World Health Organization is “very disappointed” that China has still not authorized the entry of a team of international experts to examine the origins of the coronavirus.

“Today, we learned that Chinese officials have not yet finalized the necessary permissions for the team’s arrival in China,” WHO Director- General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, pictured, told a news conference in Geneva.

“I have been in contact with senior Chinese officials and I have once again made it clear the mission is a priority for the WHO,” he told reporters.

China reported the first cases of a pneumonia of unknown cause in the city of Wuhan to the WHO on Dec. 31, 2019 and closed a market where the novel coronavirus was believed to have emerged.