WHO research team in Wuhan completes quarantine, will begin study on origins of the coronavirus

The team of World Health Organization researchers in Wuhan, China, to learn more about how the coronavirus started in the major Chinese city in late-2019 on Thursday emerged from the mandatory, first-14-days quarantine and began their fact-finding mission. 

The team is expected to face political and well as scientific challenges, as China continues to deflect blame for its early handling of the outbreak — particularly allegations it was not transparent about when and how the virus started.

It remains unclear exactly how much access the researchers will be granted by the Chinese government, where they will be allowed to go, and with whom they will be allowed to speak.

Media have been kept at a distance from the team during their quarantine period, and former WHO official Keiji Fukuda has cautioned against the anticipation of any major breakthroughs by the team.

"So much of the physical evidence is going to be gone," he said. "The memories of people are imprecise, and probably the physical layouts of many places are going to be different than they were." 

Prior to the arrival of the team, China opposed an independent investigation into the virus's origins over which it could not exercise complete control. At the outset of the pandemic, the WHO also was criticized, especially by then-President Trump, for taking too soft a stance on China's response to the outbreak, which has now killed over 2 million people worldwide.

However, the WHO has recently released a report accusing China of making slow and stalled moves at the beginning of the outbreak, saying that the country, among others, could have done better. 

A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Zhao Lijian, has said the research team will have the opportunity to have discussions and carry out inspections in Wuhan.

In response to a recent comment by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who said it is "imperative that we get to the bottom of the early days of the pandemic in China," Zhao said, "We hope the U.S. can work with the Chinese side in a responsible manner, respect facts and science, and respect the hard work of the international expert team in tracing the origin of the virus, so that they can conduct scientific research on the virus tracing without any political interference."