Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Switzerland will not protest WHO Covid report on China

WHO experts in China
WHO scientists in Wuhan in February. Keystone / Alex Plavevski

Switzerland refuses to be drawn into a growing international row over the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

The United States and 13 other countries have condemned the findings of a recent World Health Organization (WHO) visit to China. They have demanded an additional investigation, claiming that China denied WHO scientists full access to sites and to data.

WHO says it is unlikely that the deadly virus came from a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan and is exploring the possibility that it originated elsewhere in the world before causing an outbreak in China.

Denmark, Norway, Great Britain, Australia, Canada and Japan are among the countries to have joined the US protest at WHO’s handling of the probe.

Switzerland will not be joining their ranks. “We were informed about the statement by the US. Switzerland has decided not to participate in this statement,” the Swiss foreign ministry told the news agency Keystone-SDA.

This confirms an article in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper on Thursday morning.

The foreign ministry did not want to comment on speculation on whether Beijing obstructed the WHO investigation. Switzerland has decided to adopt a neutral stance as the search for more scientific information continues.

More

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

No Swiss bank in phase with environmental objectives

More

Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF

This content was published on None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.

Read more: Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF
UNRWA provides emergency assistance to just over one million Palestine refugees, or about 75 per cent of all Palestine refugees in Gaza, who lack the financial means to cover their basic food.

More

Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

This content was published on The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.

Read more: Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR