Australia and European Union will table a resolution to the World Health Organization at its annual assembly Monday calling for an “impartial evaluation” of how the COVID-19 outbreak started. The motion, co-sponsored by the U.K. and more than 120 other nations, but not supported by China, comes as Beijing faces greater scrutiny for its role in the coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 4.7 million people and killed at least 315,000. The draft resolution effectively calls for an international inquiry to identify the “source of the virus and the route of introduction to the human population.” China’s Xi Jinping spoke at the opening ceremony of the assembly, which is convening virtually. According to BBC News, he said that China will allow a “comprehensive review of the global response to COVID-19, after it has been brought under control” and added that it must be “conducted in an objective and impartial way.”
