WHO chief says virus investigators had difficulties "accessing raw data" from China
30 March 2021
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the joint WHO-China report on the origins of the coronavirus on Tuesday, but noted that scientists had difficulty "accessing raw data" from China and called for further investigation of the lab leak theory.
Why it matters: The comments come in the wake of an inconclusive report that has prompted concerns about transparency and the influence of the Chinese government over the investigation.
Background: The report assessed that the coronavirus was most likely introduced to humans through an intermediate animal host, but called for further investigation in numerous areas — except for the theory that the virus leaked from a lab accident, which it called "extremely unlikely."
What they're saying: "I do not believe that this assessment was extensive enough," Tedros said at a briefing on Tuesday. "Further data and studies will be needed to reach more robust conclusions."
- "Although the team has concluded that a laboratory leak is the least likely hypothesis, this requires further investigation, potentially with additional missions involving specialist experts, which I am ready to deploy."
The big picture: 14 countries — Australia, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Slovenia, the U.S. and the U.K. — released a joint statement on Tuesday expressing "shared concern" about the lack of access to "complete, original data and samples."
- Tedros, who was accused during the Trump administration of being beholden to China, appeared to echo some of those criticisms, saying: "In my discussions with the team, they expressed the difficulties they encountered in accessing raw data."
- "I expect future collaborative studies to include more timely and comprehensive data sharing," he added.
The bottom line: "Finding the origin of a virus takes time and we owe it to the world to find the source so we can collectively take steps to reduce the risk of this happening again," Tedros concluded. "No single research trip can provide all the answers."
Go deeper: More findings from the report
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.