The World Health Organization chief on Tuesday criticised the&nbsp;lack of data access from China for the study on the origins of COVID-19.

China refused to give raw data on early COVID-19 cases to the WHO-led team, one of the team’s investigators has already said, potentially complicating efforts to understand how the global pandemic began.

"In my discussions with the team, they expressed the difficulties they encountered in accessing raw data," Tedros said. "I expect future collaborative studies to include more timely and comprehensive data sharing."

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The conclusions that the virus origins remains incomplete likely means that tensions over how the pandemic started, and whether China has helped or hinder efforts to find out, as the United States has alleged,&nbsp;will continue.

A team commissioned by the&nbsp;World&nbsp;Health&nbsp;Organization&nbsp;to investigate the source of the coronavirus in Wuhan in January concluded that it was "extremely unlikely" that the pathogen originated in a top-security lab in the ground-zero Chinese city.

The WHO team's leader, Peter Ben Embarek, told a separate virtual press briefing on Tuesday that it was "perfectly possible" COVID-19 cases were circulating in November or October 2019 around Wuhan, potentially leading to the disease spreading abroad earlier than documented so far.

He said the team felt political pressure, including from outside China, but that he never was pressed to remove anything from its final report.

Covid-19 has killed more than 2.7 million people worldwide in the 15 months since it emerged, forcing governments around the&nbsp;world&nbsp;to introduce restrictions that have battered the global economy.

The probe was plagued by delays, concern over access and bickering between Beijing and Washington, which under former US&nbsp;President Donald Trump's administration accused China of hiding the extent of the initial outbreak.

The WHO declared on January&nbsp;30, 2020, that COVID-19 constituted an international emergency, its highest level of alert.

The World Health Organization chief on Tuesday criticised the lack of data access from China for the study on the origins of COVID-19. China refused to give raw data on early COVID-19 cases to the WHO-led team, one of the team’s investigators has already said, potentially complicating efforts to understand how the global pandemic began.

The World Health Organization chief on Tuesday criticised the lack of data access from China for the study on the origins of COVID-19. China refused to give raw data on early COVID-19 cases to the WHO-led team, one of the team’s investigators has already said, potentially complicating efforts to understand how the global pandemic began. "In my discussions with the team, they expressed the difficulties they encountered in accessing raw data," Tedros said. "I expect future collaborative studies to include more timely and comprehensive data sharing." The conclusions that the virus origins remains incomplete likely means that tensions over how the pandemic started, and whether China has helped or hinder efforts to find out, as the United States has alleged, will continue. A team commissioned by the World Health Organization to investigate the source of the coronavirus in Wuhan in January concluded that it was "extremely unlikely" that the pathogen originated in a top-security lab in the ground-zero Chinese city. The WHO team's leader, Peter Ben Embarek, told a separate virtual press briefing on Tuesday that it was "perfectly possible" COVID-19 cases were circulating in November or October 2019 around Wuhan, potentially leading to the disease spreading abroad earlier than documented so far. He said the team felt political pressure, including from outside China, but that he never was pressed to remove anything from its final report. Covid-19 has killed more than 2.7 million people worldwide in the 15 months since it emerged, forcing governments around the world to introduce restrictions that have battered the global economy. The probe was plagued by delays, concern over access and bickering between Beijing and Washington, which under former US President Donald Trump's administration accused China of hiding the extent of the initial outbreak. The WHO declared on January 30, 2020, that COVID-19 constituted an international emergency, its highest level of alert.

WHO chief criticises lack of data access from China for Covid origins' study

US&nbsp;Secretary of State Antony&nbsp;Blinken on Sunday expressed concerns about the ''methodology and the process'' behind a forthcoming WHO report on the&nbsp;origin of coronavirus.

Blinken said in an interview that China ''apparently helped the World Health Organization&nbsp;write the report''.

However, Blinken hinted that the Biden administration will not take punitive action against China for its handling of the outbreak.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/who-postpones-coronavirus-origin-report-likely-to-be-out-next-week-370924">WHO postpones coronavirus origin report, likely to be out next week</a>

While Blinken said there needed to be "accountability for the past" and echoed calls from other Biden officials for Beijing to be transparent about the 2019 outbreak, he noted that their "focus needs to be on building a stronger system for the future."

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"I think the issue for us is to make sure that we do everything possible to prevent another pandemic even as we're working through this one or at the very least to make sure that we can mitigate in much more effective ways any damage done if something happens in the future," he said.

His comments mark a sharp contrast to his&nbsp;predecessor, Mike Pompeo&nbsp;and the Trump administration, which had referred to the deadly disease as the "Wuhan virus" and called for China to be punished.

An international expert mission to Wuhan has concluded that it was very likely that Covid first passed to humans from a bat through an intermediary animal, while all but ruling out a lab incident.

The experts said that the intermediary host hypothesis was deemed "likely to very likely", while the theory that the virus escaped from a laboratory was seen as "extremely unlikely", according to the final version of the long-awaited report.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday expressed concerns about the ''methodology and the process'' behind a forthcoming WHO report on the origin of coronavirus.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday expressed concerns about the ''methodology and the process'' behind a forthcoming WHO report on the origin of coronavirus. Blinken said in an interview that China ''apparently helped the World Health Organization write the report''. However, Blinken hinted that the Biden administration will not take punitive action against China for its handling of the outbreak. Also read| WHO postpones coronavirus origin report, likely to be out next week While Blinken said there needed to be "accountability for the past" and echoed calls from other Biden officials for Beijing to be transparent about the 2019 outbreak, he noted that their "focus needs to be on building a stronger system for the future." "I think the issue for us is to make sure that we do everything possible to prevent another pandemic even as we're working through this one or at the very least to make sure that we can mitigate in much more effective ways any damage done if something happens in the future," he said. His comments mark a sharp contrast to his predecessor, Mike Pompeo and the Trump administration, which had referred to the deadly disease as the "Wuhan virus" and called for China to be punished. An international expert mission to Wuhan has concluded that it was very likely that Covid first passed to humans from a bat through an intermediary animal, while all but ruling out a lab incident. The experts said that the intermediary host hypothesis was deemed "likely to very likely", while the theory that the virus escaped from a laboratory was seen as "extremely unlikely", according to the final version of the long-awaited report.

Blinken expresses concern on WHO report over origin of coronavirus

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WHO chief criticises lack of data access from China for Covid origins' study

Blinken expresses concern on WHO report over origin of coronavirus