China to allow in WHO member with virus antibodies

China's foreign ministry on Friday said it would allow entry of a British expert member of the WHO investigation team who had earlier been denied entry due to a positive coronavirus antibody test. Fifteen team members were to arrive in Wuhan on Thursday, but two tested positive for coronavirus antibodies before leaving Singapore and were being retested there, WHO said in a statement on Twitter.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in a regular briefing that a second round of tests had been administered. While the British expert had tested negative for an coronavirus antibody test and is cleared for travel, a Sudanese expert from Qatar has tested positive. The rest of the team had arrived at the Wuhan airport on Thursday morning. They are on a two-week quarantine and are to start working with Chinese experts via video conference while in quarantine, according to CGTN, the English-language arm of state broadcaster CCTV.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government has blacklisted Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp. and China's third-largest national oil company for alleged military links, heaping pressure on Beijing in President Donald Trump's last week in office. "China will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises," Zhao said. U.S. investors will have to divest their stakes in Chinese companies on the military list by November this year, according to an executive order signed by Trump in November.