WHO announces its research team has completed the preliminary task for the investigation of animal origin and the nCoV transmission medium host.

"A two-member team of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) has completed a three-week mission in China to build the foundation for upcoming joint efforts to identify the source of the virus."

They also "conduct video discussions with scientists, virologists in Wuhan, China, as well as officials in Beijing," the WHO added.

The announcement came after an expert group at the fourth meeting of the Covid-19 emergency committee convened by WHO on July 31 urged the organization to speed up its investigation, which was launched.

The committee meets every three months to assess whether the epidemic is eligible to be considered a public health emergency, and to provide advice to WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The meeting called for speeding up "research on the remaining important nCoV unknowns, such as animal origin and its potential intermediate hosts".

According to General Director Tedros, the meeting concluded that Covid-19 is still at the highest alert level.

The emergency committee is composed of medical experts from more than 20 countries, including China, the United States, France and South Korea.

"We can fight the virus better if we know everything about it, including how it started," Tedros emphasized in late June when announcing the investigation.

On July 7, a team of experts arrived in China to set up the basis for the investigation.

However, Mike Ryan, the director of the WHO's emergency health program, said it would take weeks before a full team of experts could reach China.

Covid-19 broke out in December 2019, appearing in 213 countries and territories with nearly 18 million cases and nearly 680,000 deaths.