Australia calls for review of circumstances that led to start of COVID-19 pandemic

Australia on April 19 demanded an international investigation into coronavirus outbreak adding to the growing pressure on China, questioning its transparency. Australia wants the international investigation to find out the origin of the virus and how it spread. The recent demand by Australia comes as the international community questions China's handling of the deadly disease. Many reports in the past have suggested that the virus was actually released from a lab in China, dismissing the theory that it originated at a seafood market in Wuhan city, as believed by scientists from across the world. 

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Australia’s foreign minister, Marise Payne was among the leaders who questioned China's handling of the outbreak as she said that the transparency and free flow information from the Communist state is 'very high point' of concern for her. Payne's attack at China came amid growing tension between the two trading partners as Australia had previously accused Beijing of interfering in its domestic affairs.  

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Australia is apparently not the only country to question China's transparency on the crisis, the United States had also accused the Asian country of not sharing important information about the disease, scathing attack at the Communist government in Beijing. The United States went as far as to attack the World Health Organisation (WHO) for allegedly siding with China and not pressuring it enough to share vital information. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

The coronavirus outbreak has infected over 2.34 million people globally and has killed nearly 1,61,000 patients since it first broke out in December 2019. The virus is believed to have originated from a seafood market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the initial epicentre of the disease, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally. Currently, the United States, Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom are the most affected countries in the world with a recorded death toll of 14,000 and above.

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(Image Credit: AP)