How Chinese officials are monitoring coronavirus origin research

As the WHO investigates the origins of coronavirus, reports say Chinese government officials are strictly controlling all research into the origins of the virus.

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A WHO team had first visited Wuhan in January 2020 visited the Wuhan Tianhe Airport, Zhongnan hospital, Hubei provincial CDC including China’s Center for Disease Control (CDC).

Data collected by WHO officials in January had shown that "human-to-human transmission" was taking place in Wuhan.

Now reports say that the publication of new coronavirus reports should first be approved by China's new task force which is part the country's cabinet under President Xi Jinping.

A Chinese citizen journalist 37-year-old Zhang Zhan was recently jailed for four years for her reporting from Wuhan on the COVID-19 outbreak. A Chinese court said Zhang Zhan had spread "false remarks" online.

Zhang had gone on hunger strike and was reportedly forced fed through a nasal tube. Zhang had reportedly written an essay accusing the Chinese government of not giving enough information on the Wuhan virus and had simply locked down the city".

China had reportedly detained four citizen journalists after reporting from Wuhan to face trial.

China had reported the first case of the virus on December 31, 2019 to the WHO even as reports said later that there were several reports of coronavirus earlier and that authorities had taken too long to react.

The virus has already claimed over 1.7 million lives worldwide and infected over 82 million people.