The World Health Organization has proposed a fresh coronavirus investigation in China and an audit of its labs over the origin of the virus. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has proposed five priorities for the next phase of the investigation that include audits of relevant laboratories and research institutions operating in the area of the initial human cases identified in December 2019.

Ghebreyesus said that the second stage of an investigation into the origins of coronavirus should include further studies in China. The WHO chief also called for more studies of animal markets in and around the Chinese city of Wuhan.

A WHO-led team had spent four weeks in and around Wuhan with Chinese researchers and said in a joint report that the virus had probably been transmitted from bats to humans. However, countries including the United States and some scientists have demanded further investigation.