A group of Chinese experts explains where the COVID-19 virus came from.
ByShehryar Makhdoom | Published date:
First and foremost, Chinese experts have given a precise analysis of the origin of COVID-19, indicating that the Coronavirus was not developed at the Wuhan Institute of Virology as previously believed (WIV). A news conference was held at the State Council Information Office (SCIO) in Beijing. It was revealed that China had formed a multidisciplinary research team to investigate the origins and spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Last July, specialists from China and the World Health Organization (WHO) collaborated to develop the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the researcher tasked with tracing the origins of the COVID-19 virus infection.
All other investigations globally to track Coronavirus origin are undertaken by these TORs.
The diverse research team indicates that coronaviruses detected among bats and pangolins most likely connect to SARS-CoV-2 and are sequenced in the highest homology for SARS-CoV-2.
However, neither of the viruses isolated from these mammalian species has been found to be sufficiently similar to SARS-CoV-2 to be considered a direct ancestor. Although homologies are high, a great deal of diversity still exists, the research team determined.
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