The head of the World Health Organization says he is "disappointed" that Chinese officials haven't finalised permissions for the arrival of team of experts into China to examine origins of COVID-19.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a rare critique of China, said members of the international scientific team began departing from their home countries over the last 24 hours as part of an arrangement between the WHO and the Chinese government.
"Today, we learned that Chinese officials have not yet finalised the necessary permissions for the team's arrival in China," he told a news conference in Geneva.
"I'm very disappointed with this news given that two members had already begun their journeys and others were not able to travel at the last minute but had been in contact with senior Chinese officials," he said.