The World Health Organization said Monday an advance team looking into the origins of the COVID-19 outbreak has concluded its mission in China, and the UN health agency is preparing the deployment of a larger group of experts to the suspected outbreak zone.
The latest:
- Number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide surpasses 18 million.
- Norwegian cruise ship passengers, crew test positive for coronavirus.
- France imposes new rules requiring outdoor masks.
- Pakistan imposes lockdown to contain COVID-19 after Eid al-Adha holiday.
- Curfew imposed in Australia’s second-largest city, Melbourne.
- Philippine capital returning to lockdown as virus surges.
- Task force doctor warns COVID-19 now ‘extraordinarily widespread’ in U.S.
- Rollout of COVID-19 Alert app faces criticism over accessibility.
The World Health Organization said Monday an advance team looking into the origins of the COVID-19 outbreak has concluded its mission in China, and the UN health agency is preparing the deployment of a larger group of experts to the suspected outbreak zone.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the international team will deploy to Wuhan, the city where the pandemic is believed to have erupted late last year. Tedros said terms of reference have been drawn up by the WHO and China, but did not elaborate.
“The WHO advance team that travelled to China has now concluded their mission to lay the groundwork for further joint efforts to identify the virus’s origins,” he told a news conference. “Epidemiological studies will begin in Wuhan to identify the potential source of infection of the early cases.”
He said “evidence and hypothesis” generated from the work would “lay the ground for further, longer-term studies.”
The comments came amid an increasingly heavy toll from the pandemic in the United States, Brazil and India, as investigators seek to clarify the origins of the virus and how it may have jumped from animals to humans late last year.
Dr. Michael Ryan, the WHO’s emergencies chief, noted “gaps in the epidemiological landscape” and said it would be assessed what studies to conduct and what data to collect. He said the two-person advance team had not returned from China, and had not been “debriefed” yet.
“The real trick is to go to the human clusters that occurred first and then to work your way back systematically looking for that first signal at which the animal human species barrier was crossed,” Ryan said. “Once you understand where that barrier was breached, then you move into the studies in a more systematic way on the animal side.”
WATCH | Doctors report drop in premature births during pandemic:
As people around the world stayed home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors in several countries noticed a significant dip in premature births. 2:04
The WHO press office, contacted by The Associated Press after the news conference, did not provide details of the terms of reference, say whether they would be made public, or indicate how big the international team would be or when it could be sent to China.
It said team members had “extensive discussions” with their Chinese counterparts during the three-week visit, and had discussions by video with virologists and other scientists in Wuhan — including the Wuhan Institute of Virology. U.S. President Donald Trump in April claimed to have seen evidence to support the theory that the lab was the origin of the virus.
Worldwide, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases has climbed past 18 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. The number of global deaths stands at more than 690,000.
What’s happening with coronavirus in Canada
As of 4 a.m. ET on Monday, Canada had 117,031 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases. Provinces and territories listed 101,595 of the cases as recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting indicates that 8,982 Canadians have died.
Starting Monday, Quebec is loosening its coronavirus restrictions to allow group gatherings of up to 250 people.
WATCH | WHO estimates infection fatality rate from coronavirus is about 0.6%:
‘That may not sound like a lot, but it is quite high,’ says WHO’s technical lead, Dr. Maria Van Kherkove. 2:18
The new rule applies to indoor spaces, including movie theatres, sporting events and places of worship. People are still asked to keep a safe distance and wear a mask.
Many Canadians are changing the way they celebrate holiday long weekends due to the pandemic. Vancouver’s Pride week wrapped on Sunday with festivities broadcast online. Only a few people took to the streets to celebrate.
One long weekend is all it can take to spark a new outbreak, as was the case with the Canada Day celebrations in Kelowna, B.C. Indoor gatherings in the tourist hot spot were thought to have resulted in at least 130 new cases of the coronavirus in the region.
With