当地时间1月15日，世界卫生组织（WHO）举行新冠肺炎例行发布会，发布会上，世卫组织突发委员会负责人迈克尔·瑞安以及技术部门负责人玛利亚·范·科克霍夫介绍了本次专家组来华的相关情况，强调了溯源工作的复杂性和长期性，并特别对中方表示了感谢。 周五会上，专家们呼吁全球加强新冠病毒测序研究，以应对此轮病毒的新变种。 由于疫情原因，会议被推迟了两周。此轮会议就新出现的，似乎更具传染性的病毒株进行紧急会谈。截至周五，全球感染新冠病毒死亡人数已超过200万人。 世卫组织突发委员会要求入境国际旅客提供疫苗接种证明。鉴于目前的状况，世卫组织认为是时候修改出行建议。 世卫组织表示，希望在未来100天内，每个国家都能接种新冠疫苗，但人们仍担心富裕国家独占第一批疫苗。 世卫组织对在巴西流行的一种新变种病毒发出了警告：目前一些国家的感染高峰可归咎于防疫松懈，而不是简单的病毒变种。 The World Health Organization's (WHO) emergency committee called Friday for globally-ramped up coronavirus sequencing studies in order to combat troubling new variants stalking the globe. The meeting was dragged forward by two weeks for urgent talks on the emerging, seemingly more contagious strains of the virus, as the global death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic surpassed two million. The emergency committee came out against countries requiring proof of vaccination from incoming international travelers. However, it said it was time to overhaul recommendations on travel guidance given what was now known about the virus. The WHO said it wanted COVID-19 vaccination underway in every country within the next 100 days, amid concerns that rich nations are hogging the first batches coming off the production lines. And while it sounded the alarm on a new virus variant circulating in Brazil, the WHO warned that the current infection spikes in some countries could be blamed on lapses in behavior rather than simply the new mutations. 病毒变异以及警惕风险 会后，世卫组织发表声明：“在病毒变种问题上，委员会呼吁在全球范围内扩大基因组测序和数据共享，并加强科学合作，以解决未知难题。” 该委员会还呼吁世卫组织重新命名新变种的病毒，以保持它们在地缘政治上的中立，以避免被污名化。 在本周初公布的流行病学通告中，世卫组织表示，首次在英国发现的新冠病毒已蔓延至50个国家，而在南非发现的类似毒株目前已在20个国家蔓延。 目前，目前专家组正在分析在巴西亚马逊流域发现的第三类变种病例，此类病毒可能会影响人体免疫力。 世卫组织突发委员会负责人迈克尔·瑞安，巴西北部亚马孙州，特别是该州首府马瑙斯情况严重，医院的床位已达到极限。 会上，瑞安表示“如果这种情况继续下去，此轮疫情可能相比去年4、5月更严重。” 但瑞安强调说，“把责任归咎于病毒变种太容易了。”当局需要为他们的行为承担责任，松懈的防护行为加剧了病毒的传播。 世卫组织技术部负责人玛利亚·范·科克霍夫补充说，“这种病毒本身就是危险的——不管它变不变种。” “我们可能永远也找不到零号病人的来源。”她补充说。 Variants and vigilance The recently-discovered variants can only be identified by sequencing their genetic code – an analysis that is not possible everywhere. "On variants, (the committee) called for a global expansion of genomic sequencing and sharing of data, along with greater scientific collaboration to address critical unknowns," the WHO said in a statement after the virtual meeting. The committee also called on the WHO to come up with a standardized system for naming new variants to keep them geographically and politically neutral, in a bid to avoid stigmatization. In its epidemiological bulletin earlier this week, the WHO said the coronavirus mutation first found in Britain had spread to 50 territories, while a similar South African-identified strain has now been found in 20. A third mutation first reported in the Brazilian Amazon is currently being analyzed and could impact the immune response, according to the WHO. The situation in northern Brazil's Amazonas state, and particularly its capital Manaus, has deteriorated significantly, with hospitals pushed to the limit, said WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan. "If this continues, we are going to see a wave that is greater than what was a catastrophic wave in April and May in Amazonas," he told a press conference in Geneva. But Ryan stressed it was "too easy to just lay the blame on the variant" – saying people and authorities need to accept their share of responsibility for their actions which were driving up the transmission. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's COVID-19 technical lead, added, "This virus is dangerous on its own – variant or not." "We may never find who the patient zero was," she added. 专家组在武汉进行溯源研究 瑞安表示，谭德塞总干事去年1月访华以及世卫组织2月派工作组赴华时，就已讨论溯源问题。 此次专家组汇集多国相关领域最优秀的专家，目标是为了解病毒的动物起源找到科学答案，保护公共卫生，应对未来可能出现的大流行。此次专家组得以成行，要感谢中方的大力支持。这一成果来之不易。 但溯源研究往往十分艰难，不能确保找到最终答案，以往此类研究往往历经数次努力并耗费大量时间。 专家组得到了中国政府、人民以及湖北省武汉市的热情款待，希望他们一切顺利。 A WHO-led team arrived on Thursday in Wuhan, once the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in China, to cooperate with their Chinese peers in the research on the potential origins of the coronavirus. The experts traveled from Singapore, where they took nucleic acid and serum antibody tests. But they still need to go through the required quarantine procedures before starting fieldwork in Wuhan. They've already begun virtual meetings with their Chinese counterparts from a hotel, according to Dr. Ryan. But when asked about any updates on the initial meetings or information about the mission, he said WHO will not report these things on a daily basis. "They have to have the space to be able to do the work," said Dr. Ryan. He appreciated the cooperation between the WHO and China on virus tracing since February, saying it has allowed them to attain better knowledge on the issue, thanking all those who are helping them find the scientific answers they need to protect public health. 推荐阅读：CGTN独家专访世卫组织专家：疫情责任应全球共担 世卫组织发出警告：“世界正处于一个新的危险阶段” “世界亏欠你们！”世卫组织专家发布会上的一句话，让人动容