15th January, 2021
One more scientist in a team commissioned by the World Health Organisation (WHO), to research the pandemic’s origins, has been allowed entry to China.
The scientist was one of two experts in the 15-member team who were denied entry.
The duo tested positive for coronavirus antibodies during a layover in Singapore, which possibly indicated a previous infection.
“To show our support for the WHO, the Chinese side consented to conduct a second round of serum antibody tests,’’ a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
The British expert tested negative in the second antibody test and was permitted to enter the country, while the other expert, from Qatar, tested positive again.
All of the 15 experts tested negative in the PCR tests carried out in Singapore.
The rest of the team arrived in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on Thursday, where they were placed in two-week quarantine.
The WHO said they would still be able to conduct work while isolating.
The team’s mission is to work with Chinese scientists to investigate whether the virus can be traced back to its origins.
The Coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 disease, was first discovered over a year ago in the central Chinese metropolis.
The search for the origin of the virus is politically sensitive as China fears being fingered as the culprit for the pandemic.
For months Chinese authorities have been casting doubt on whether the virus originated in China at all.