Inappropriate that WHO wants 2nd phase Covid origin-tracing: China

China has opposed nextphase Covid19 originstracing saying that it is ldquoinappropriaterdquo that the World Health Organization WHO came up with the second phase of the study that focused on a lableak theoryIn recent months the lableak theory has gained great traction after the Biden administration pushed for a fresh intelligence probe into the virus originldquoThe nextphase Covid19 originstracing should be carried out worldwide in countries where horseshoe bat and pangolins reside and which supply Wuhan Huanan market through coldchain logisticsrdquo said Liang Wannian a Chinese expert in the WHOconvened joint team on origins tracing as quoted by Global TimesldquoItrsquos unacceptable and inappropriate that WHO came up with 2ndphase of Covid19 originstracing that focused on a lableak theory classified as extremely unlikely in the 1stphase study which ignored evidence and did not consult member statesrdquo said Chinarsquos Health Commission officialThis comes hours after the WHO said that the next step in the search of the origins of Covid19 will be the creation of a new advisory group that will develop a global framework to study pathogens with pandemic potentialThe WHO expressed hope that all countries including China can collaborate and put in place the conditions for more missions to be sent to Wuhan to duly probe the ldquolab hypothesisrdquoldquoThe International Scientific Advisory Group for Origins of Novel Pathogens or SAGO is a new advisory group for WHO which will be responsible for advising WHO on the development of a global framework to systematically study the emergence of future emerging pathogens with pandemic potential For SARSCoV2 it will support the rapid undertaking of recommended studies outlined in the March 2021 reportrdquo the WHO said in a statement on ThursdayPhilippines extends travel ban for IndiaThe Philippines has extended its travel ban for all inbound travellers from India and nine other nations until August 31 as cases of the Covid19 Delta variant have continued to spike across the Southeast Asian country presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Friday The Delta variant has spread in the Philippines where 627 cases have been reported including 11 deaths reports Xinhua news agency Aside from India where the Delta variant was first detected the Philippines also banned travellers from Malaysia Thailand Indonesia Pakistan Nepal Bangladesh Sri Lanka Oman and the United Arab EmiratesIsrael to give vaccine booster dose to someIsraeli PM Naftali Bennett has instructed health maintenance organisations HMOs to prepare to offer a third Covid vaccine booster for some age groups under 60 next week according to a statement from his office Bennett and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz were briefed on Thursday by CEOs of Israelrsquos four HMOs on their vaccination efforts reports Xinhua news agency The PM told the HMOsrsquo directors they need to ldquoprepare to expand the range of ages for the third inoculation next weekrdquoBangladesh to reopen tourist destinationsThe Bangladesh government has decided to reopen tourist destinations from August 19 according to the countryrsquos Cabinet Division The Cabinet said on Thursday that tourist spots resorts as well as recreation centres will be allowed to operate in half the capacity and everyone should follow the health guidelines reports Xinhua news agency659772No of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours205768700Total no of cases worldwide4340240Total no of deaths worldwideSource WHOJohns HopkinsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever