Does the World Health Organization support the reopening of wet markets in China?
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
By Tami Carter
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YES
The World Health Organization is developing guidance for the safe operation of wet markets, a term generally referring to any market selling fresh meats and produce. Bans against sale of illegal wildlife should be "rigorously enforced," the agency's Director General said on April 16.
The role of China's wet markets drew attention because a cluster of early coronavirus infections originated in a seafood market in Wuhan.
“The market played a role in the event, that’s clear. But what role we don’t know, whether it was the source or amplifying setting or just a coincidence that some cases were detected in and around that market,” a WHO official said at a May press briefing.
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