People walk in central London, Britain on March 18, 2021. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
"The origins of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) are not yet certain -- it is possible the origin will never be fully established -- but nature is a powerful force and, in my view, the most likely scenario is that the virus crossed from animals to humans. The best scientific evidence available to date points to this," said Dr Jeremy Farrar, a renowned medical researcher.
LONDON, May 29 (Xinhua) -- There is no place for "unsubstantiated rumor, or conspiracy theories often fueled for political purposes" when it comes to COVID-19 origin tracing, said Dr Jeremy Farrar, director of Wellcome Trust, a charitable foundation, and a renowned medical researcher.
"The origins of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) are not yet certain -- it is possible the origin will never be fully established -- but nature is a powerful force and, in my view, the most likely scenario is that the virus crossed from animals to humans. The best scientific evidence available to date points to this," said Dr Farrar in a statement provided for Xinhua.
Before joining Wellcome Trust as director, Dr Farrar spent years in Vietnam making many pivotal advances in the understanding of diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, typhoid, dengue and influenza.
"Understanding the origins of this disease, and any zoonotic infection, is absolutely critical to successfully preventing future outbreaks and protecting lives globally," he said.
"We must stay open-minded while efforts continue to gather and share the evidence needed. But we should not wait for all the answers to act on reducing current and future risks," he said.
People walk past an NHS (National Health Service) COVID-19 Vaccination Centre in London, Britain, on March 31, 2021. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
"We know we must urgently enhance our ability to track, report and immediately respond to disease outbreaks at local, national and international levels. We need to better understand the risks and prevent spillover events between animals and humans," he also said.
Since May 17, pubs, bars and restaurants in England have been permitted to open indoors, while indoor entertainment resumed, including cinemas, museums and children's play areas.
People are also allowed to travel abroad to a number of "green-list" countries without being subjected to quarantine upon return as the ban on foreign travel has also been lifted.
The British government's roadmap is expected to see all legal limits on social contact to be removed on June 21.
To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia, the United States as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines. ■
