Wuhan: Two members of the World Health Organization (WHO) team were prevented from entering China due to the failure of the antibody test for Coronavirus

IgM antibody It is among the first possible signs of a coronavirus infection, but it can also appear in someone who has been vaccinated or previously infected (but is no longer a carrier) of the virus. It is also possible to obtain false positive results with such tests.

Since November 2020, travelers traveling to China have to show negative results for the IgM antibody test, and PCR test, before they are allowed entry.

The organization said that the scientists concerned are being re-tested, and they have previously tested and found negative for Corona virus several times, adding that those scientists who were able to travel to China “will start their work immediately during the two-week quarantine protocol. For international travelers.”

At a regular press conference on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that the country “will strictly follow relevant epidemic prevention regulations and requirements, and provide support and corresponding facilities for WHO experts who come to China to carry out international cooperation on tracing the origin of the virus.” “

In response to a question about refusing to enter the worlds, Zhao refused to comment, instructing the reports by asking “relevant authorities.”

The official CGTN station reported on Thursday that the WHO team “underwent throat swabs and serum antibody tests at the airport” upon arrival in the country.

Late flight

This is the second delay for the WHO team, Who was due to arrive in China earlier this monthBut authorities prevented her from flying there, prompting a rare reprimand from the UN agency.

“I am very disappointed by this news,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “I have been in contact with senior Chinese officials and have made clear once again that the mission is a priority for the World Health Organization and the international team.”

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Tedros added that the World Health Organization is “keen to start the mission as soon as possible” and that he had received assurances that Beijing would speed up internal procedures for “spreading as soon as possible.”

This posting started this week, with the majority of the team arriving in Wuhan, although they will limit themselves to what they can do as they end their mandatory two-week quarantine.

They are “ready to go,” said Marion Koopmans, a Dutch virologist who heads the department of virology at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam and is part of the investigation team heading to China.

Copmans said they were told that nothing was forbidden while in China, and they said that the team would work in cooperation with their Chinese colleagues “look at the data, talk to people with experience, and draw conclusions from what has been accomplished and what can be based on it.”

She said it was important to understand the origins of how the virus was transmitted to humans because “no country has no risk of disease emerging. It is something we need to understand, so that the whole world can prepare.”

“We really need to be patient, not judgmental,” Koopmans said. “It’s delicate work and it will take time.”

Political tensions

The United States and Australia led the charge in criticizing the way China handled the early stages of the epidemic, and accused Beijing of underestimating its severity and preventing an effective response until it is too late.

Outgoing US President Donald Trump has repeatedly blamed China for the global pandemic and Advertise The United States will end its relationship with the World Health Organization, saying that China has not properly reported the information it has about the coronavirus and has pressed the WHO to “mislead the world.”

The United States called for transparency in WHO’s operations in China. In November, Garrett Gregisby of the US Department of Health and Human Services Of the World Health Organization Assembly The terms of the investigation with China “have not been negotiated in a transparent manner” and “it appears that the investigation itself is inconsistent” with his mandate.

A collection of confidential documents CNN got it last year From the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Hubei Province – where the virus was first detected in 2019 – showed how Chinese officials provided the world with more optimistic data than they were able to access internally, by not initially reporting case numbers during the early stages of Outbreaks.

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As countries around the world struggle as new infections escalate and spread, China appears to be recovering. Last month, the country Recorded positive economic growth For the second consecutive quarter.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi praised China’s efforts to combat the epidemic at home and abroad, saying the country had “launched a global emergency humanitarian campaign” and “helped build consensus on a global response to Covid-19”.

As the WHO team prepares to initiate, Chinese officials and government media They questioned the origins of the virus, With Wang himself claiming, “More and more research indicates that the epidemic was likely due to separate outbreaks in multiple places in the world.”

CNN’s Beijing office contributed to this report.