After fresh reports on virus spread, WHO urges countries to investigate Covid cases early

World Health Organisation (WHO) on May 5 urged countries to investigate early suspicious cases of coronavirus after a report emerged claiming that France had COVID-19 case in December, sooner than previously thought. France reported its first coronavirus case in January, however, a hospital in country has said it retested old samples from pneumonia patients and discovered that it had treated a COVID-19 patient on December 27, three days before China reported disease to WHO. 

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WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told a United Nations briefing in Geneva that report gives a whole new perspective on outbreak and also urged or countries to investigate any or early suspicious cases. " findings help to better understand potential virus circulation of COVID-19," Lindmeier said at briefing. Lindmeier urged countries to investigate pneumonia cases from late 2019 and retest samples as it would show world a 'new and clearer picture' of outbreak.

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Origin of COVID-19

When asked about origin of disease, Lindmeier said it is important to explore this. According to reports, scientists have advised WHO that geme sequencing of COVID-19 shows that it has a natural origin, refuting all claims indicating disease to be man-made. Health experts believe that coronavirus originated from a seafood market in China's Wuhan city, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally. However, United States has time and again persisted that disease may have originated in a Chinese laboratory, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo going as far as to say his country has ermous evidence on that. 

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Pompeo on May 3 had said that United States has ermous evidence suggesting that virus emerged from a Chinese laboratory, without disputing US intelligence ncies' conclusion that it was t man-made. US President Donald Trump had anunced that his administration would halt funding to WHO accusing global health body of siding with China amid pandemic and t pressuring Communist state eugh to share full information with international community. 

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(Im Credit: AP)