Countries back Australia's plan to investigate the coronavirus pandemic

Amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, a coalition of 116 countries backs up a joint Australian and European Union plan to launch an independent inquiry into the coronavirus outbreak.

Image Credit: Gecko Studio / Shutterstock

The inquiry will tackle issues on the international response to the pandemic and the actions taken by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is backed by the entire 27-member European Union, along with other countries such as New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Russia, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Turkey, Japan, Indonesia, and Brazil, among others. The African group's 54-member states will also co-sponsor the motion.

Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne said it was encouraging to see many countries supporting the investigation.

"I think what it illustrates is a broad view that given the experience of COVID-19 - over 300,000 deaths, millions of people around the world losing their jobs, the impact on economies from one corner of the globe to the other - that there is a strong view that it is appropriate to engage in a review of what has happened," Payne said.

"I don't want to preempt speculate about the outcome; those discussions will be underway later this evening. I think it's a win for the international community," she added.

The coronavirus controversy

The coronavirus pandemic started in late December 2019, when a cluster of patients seeking medical help due to a pneumonia-like illness in Wuhan City, Hubei Province in China. After a few weeks, health officials have named the pathogen causing the illness as the novel coronavirus or the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Chengdu/China-Feb.2020: A security guard with face mask outside a local wet market. Image Credit: Amar Shrestha / Shutterstock

Since then, the virus has ravaged across the globe, affecting 188 countries and territories, and infecting more than 4.79 million people across the world. So far, more than 318,000 people have perished due to COVID-19.

The World Health Organization (WHO) received backlash on its delayed action to reduce the spread of the virus. After China has reported a mysterious but small number of pneumonia cases in late December, the WHO said in January that it asked more information from Beijing.

However, it advised against implementing travel and trade restrictions on China. After that, countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Italy experienced the onslaught of the virus, causing thousands of infections and deaths. Today, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Brazil report the highest number of infections.

The U.S. President Donald Trump also accused the WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of being biased towards Chinese information in the first weeks of the outbreak. During that time, Dr. Tedros praised China for setting a new standard for outbreak control. However, weeks after, the virus has reached all continents, except Antarctica.

An independent inquiry

Australia was the first nation to call for an independent inquiry into how the coronavirus started.

The draft resolution calls for the impartial, independent, and comprehensive evaluation of the international response to the pandemic. Also, it aims to review the experiences gained and lessons learned from the WHO-coordinated global health response to COVID-19.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said that Australia is looking forward to seeing a positive outcome. Australia is sure when it comes to the steps it will take in the duration of the inquiry. She added that it is essential to be clear and consistent, as well as work each through each issue as it comes.

Conflict between countries

The new version drafted by the E.U. does not mention China by name, but the action from Australia has sparked anger from Beijing, which has threatened a high tariff on barley.

Within two days, China ramped up new tariffs of up to 80 percent on Australian barley imports and banned beef imports from four companies.

Further, China has accused Australia of launching a political attack.

However, motion backers are still awaiting support from major key players in the world, including China.

"Of course, we need to have the support of all the major players, and China is one of them," Virginie Battu-Henriksson, EU's spokeswoman for foreign affairs, said.

"For us, it is not the moment for us to enter any kind of blame game as we've seen in narratives from one part or another of the world," she added.

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping defended the country's actions during the outbreak. He said China had acted with transparency and emphasized that any investigation should happen after the pandemic has been controlled.