 U.S.
top diplomat meets with WHO chief, backs study into COVID-19 origins
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[July 29, 2021]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of
State Antony Blinken met with the head of the World Health Organization
on Wednesday and affirmed U.S. support for the global health body's
plans to conduct additional studies into the origins of COVID-19,
including in China.
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 Earlier this month, the WHO called for all countries to work
together to investigate the origins of the coronavirus that caused
COVID-19. China has rejected plans for more checks on labs and
markets in its territory.
Blinken met with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in
Kuwait City and discussed the plans for further study of the origin
of the pandemic, the State Department said.
"He stressed the need for the next phase to be timely,
evidence-based, transparent, expert-led, and free from
interference," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a
statement.
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 The first human cases of
COVID-19 were reported in the central Chinese
city of Wuhan in December 2019. China has
repeatedly dismissed theories that the virus
leaked from one of its laboratories.
(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Eric Beech
and Grant McCool)
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