WHO: visit not about blame

BEIJING: A team is heading to China to study the origin of Covid19 in Wuhan, but not to assign blame for the pandemic, World Health Organisation leaders said yesterday.

The WHO team is set to arrive tomorrow, after a long, strained application process.

‘‘Studies will begin in Wuhan, China, to identify the potential source of infection of the early cases,’’ directorgeneral Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

WHO Health emergency chief Mike Ryan said, ‘‘understanding the origin of disease is not about finding somebody to blame’’.

Rather, it was about finding out how the virus crossed from animals to humans; factors could include climate change, urbanisation or decadesold policy decisions, he said. — DPA