WHO's Tedros: Finding COVID-19's Origins is a Moral Imperative

FILE - Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization speaks during a news conference on updates regarding on the novel coronavirus COVID-19, at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 9, 2020 . THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization speaks during a news conference on updates regarding on the novel coronavirus COVID-19, at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 9, 2020 . THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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WHO's Tedros: Finding COVID-19's Origins is a Moral Imperative

FILE - Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization speaks during a news conference on updates regarding on the novel coronavirus COVID-19, at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 9, 2020 . THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization speaks during a news conference on updates regarding on the novel coronavirus COVID-19, at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 9, 2020 . THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Discovering the origins of COVID-19 is a moral imperative and all hypotheses must be explored, the head of the World Health Organization said, in his strongest comments yet that the UN body remains committed to finding how the virus arose.

A US agency was reported by the Wall Street Journal to have assessed the pandemic had likely been caused by an unintended Chinese laboratory leak, raising pressure on the WHO to come up with answers. Beijing denies the assessment.

"Understanding #COVID19's origins and exploring all hypotheses remains: a scientific imperative, to help us prevent future outbreaks (and) a moral imperative, for the sake of the millions of people who died and those who live with #LongCOVID," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Twitter late on Saturday.

He was writing to mark three years since the WHO first used the word "pandemic" to describe the global outbreak of COVID-19.

Activists, politicians and academics said in an open letter this weekend that the focus of the anniversary should be on preventing a repeat of the unequal COVID-19 vaccine rollout, saying this led to at least 1.3 million preventable deaths.

In 2021, a WHO-led team spent weeks in and around Wuhan, China where the first human cases were reported and said in a joint report that the virus had probably been transmitted from bats to humans through another animal but further research was needed. China has said no more visits are needed.

Since then, the WHO has set up a scientific advisory group on dangerous pathogens but it has not yet reached any conclusions on how the pandemic began, saying key pieces of data are missing.



Taiwan on Alert over China's Military Activities in Pacific

Chinese and Taiwanese printed flags are seen in this illustration taken, April 28, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Chinese and Taiwanese printed flags are seen in this illustration taken, April 28, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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Taiwan on Alert over China's Military Activities in Pacific

Chinese and Taiwanese printed flags are seen in this illustration taken, April 28, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Chinese and Taiwanese printed flags are seen in this illustration taken, April 28, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on Thursday ordered defense and security units to step up their monitoring and intelligence efforts in response to China's military activities, which he said have not abated even as tensions rise in the Middle East. Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has, along with Japan, been tracking the movement of two Chinese aircraft carriers conducting simultaneous operations in the Pacific for the first time, Reuters reported.

Lai, in a statement released by his office after meeting with defense officials, said the conflict between Israel and Iran has led to a "chain of global security challenges."

"From the perspective of our country and even the Indo-Pacific region, it is worth paying special attention to the fact that China's military pressure in the entire region of the first and second island chains has not slowed due to the situation in the Middle East," he said.

"The actions of the two aircraft carrier groups of the Shandong and Liaoning in the relevant waters of the first and second island chains in the past few days have posed considerable risks for the Indo-Pacific region and have aroused the heightened concern of the international community."

The first island chain refers to an area that runs from Japan southeast to Taiwan, the Philippines, and Borneo, while the second island chain spreads further out into the Pacific to include places such as the U.S. territory of Guam.

Lai said he had asked the defense and security teams to strengthen their monitoring of regional developments and enhance their "intelligence gathering and research capabilities."

At the same time, Taiwan should maintain close coordination with its "friends" to ensure a swift response to any "emergencies," he added.

China's Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment outside of office hours.

China's navy, which has been honing its abilities to operate farther from the country's coast, said last week the carrier operations were "routine training" exercises that did not target specific countries or regions. China operates two carriers, with a third undergoing sea trials.