With unusually sharp words, a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) has called for China's cooperation in researching the coronavirus. The WHO's highest-ranking Covid-19 expert, Maria Van Kerkhove, criticized in a commentary in the renowned US journal "Science", for example, that Chinese scientists had withheld data from virus samples from the metropolis of Wuhan for three years.

"The lack of disclosure of data is simply inexcusable," wrote the epidemiologist, who has been informing the world public about the corona situation since the first infections in Wuhan became known. The WHO only learned of certain genetic information from the central Chinese metropolis in mid-March this year, after it was briefly accessible on an international database.

"Time is running out"

According to Van Kerkhoven, the data provide important clues about the importance of a market in Wuhan for the initial spread of the virus. However, blood tests of workers at the live animal markets in Wuhan or the animals' farms of origin are still necessary.

The WHO expert called for the immediate provision of relevant data on the origin of the virus. The more time passes, the harder the research work, which is important for preventing future outbreaks, becomes. "Time is running out," she warned.

At the beginning of March, statements by FBI Director Christopher Wray in the US had rekindled speculation about a laboratory glitch in China as the origin of the coronavirus. Van Kerkhove stressed that all hypotheses about the origin of the virus would be upheld as long as there was not enough information. China, for example, has not yet provided the results of its laboratory checks. In addition, the WHO still has no access to raw data on the first corona cases in China.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, China has been concerned that it will be blamed for the global outbreak. Since then, the government and state media have been running a massive disinformation campaign that raises the possibility that the virus could have come from abroad rather than China. The rivalry with the US and the debate over the laboratory thesis have increasingly politicized the question of the origin of the virus. It was not until 2021 that a joint commission of inquiry with WHO experts was able to travel to Wuhan. A continuation of the investigation did not take place.

"The WHO continues to call on China and all countries to immediately share all data on the origin of Sars-CoV-2," Van Kerkhove wrote. "The world needs to say goodbye to blame." Instead, it should use all diplomatic and scientific approaches to work together, find solutions and thwart future pandemics.