Beijing did not approve the World Health Organisation (WHO) to investigate bat caves and breeding farms in Hubei province. Aside from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), the bat caves have been mentioned as a source of the virus but not followed up seriously.
China rejects WHO request to access Hubei caves
World Health Organization's request to have a team investigate the bat caves where the virus came from was rejected by Chinese authorities explicitly.
From the pandemic's start, these caves have always figured in the background noise as the emphasis is on the WIV.
After the Wuhan probe by the WHO team, the UN health body refocuses on another possible lead, the cave where the viruses were harvested, and the breeding farm said reports, mentioned the Express UK.
The World Health Organisation asks the central government to permit the team to survey countless bat caves and bat farms in Hubei. American media Washington Post stated that the Enshi cave is of particular interest as another lead to follow SARS-CoV-2.
After Sharri Markson's report ''What Happened in Wuhan' was published, details about the pandemic sparked more interest in what may have been overlooked.
American intelligence agencies rehashed the previous Trump administration's claims, convinced the virus was natural or leaked out accidentally from the WIV.
According to Arizona University Professor Michael Worobey, the WHO should check the connection between the coronavirus and bats. There is a need to investigate bat caves and breeding farms to find the link to COVID-19.
Furthermore, he added that whether it is farmed animals or bats which could have transmitted the virus is one of the things to look out for, the Daily Beast.
China impose strict rules on selling wild animals at the Enshi market
Clams made by reporters in China during the early start of the outbreak are six wet markets in Enshi all shut down by March 2020, the pandemic struck everywhere.
After that, the lockdowns came hard, and the whole of China was fighting the virus soon after.
One chicken seller who had a stall located at the Enshi market remarked that rules are strictly followed now, and no more wild animals are sold there. The vendor said there was a bit before, but not much now. It is not usual to see them getting sold in the market. The stricter rules and harsh lockdown since the pandemic's start have affected the province. To date, a total of 290 farms have been closed.
According to one report, the close farms had a capacity of 450,000 and 780,000 animals. One part of the report revealed that wild animal sources for products sold in Wuhan originally came from the Hubei area.
Experts from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, on the west side of the Hubei, houses at least seven types of horseshoe bats. Horseshoe bat or Rhinolophus affinis breed, found in the south part of China, carries about 96% of a similar virus type to the SAR-CoV-2.
The Chinese embassy in Washington said that if the bat, farmed animals, and locals are positive for the coronavirus, the WHO needs to investigate bat caves and breeding farms if Beijing allows it now.
