Growing skepticism regarding an initial study by the World Health Organization and China, which offered four hypotheses for the pandemic's origins, is prompting world leaders to reopen the matter.
The U.S. and Britain are adding pressure on China amid renewed interest in the origins of COVID-19, calling on the nation to participate in the second phase of a study that includes a new visit to China where the first human infections were reported.
The first study was declared"insufficient and inconclusive" by the U.S. diplomatic mission in Geneva on Thursday. In a statement, the mission called for a"timely, transparent, evidence-based and expert-led Phase 2 study, including in the People's Republic of China."'s stated commitment to move forward with Phase 2 of the COVID-19 origins study, and look forward to an update from Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus," the statement said.
"We call for a timely, transparent, evidence-based, and expert-led phase two study, including in the People's Republic of China, as recommended by the experts' report," he said.