They kicked off meetings with Chinese leaders now that the mission's members air out of quarantine and over the next two weeks, the W.

H O said the group plans to visit labs, markets and hospitals in the city where the deadly virus first emerged in late 2019.

The team will visit the seafood market at the center of the initial outbreak as well as the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The origins of the cove in 19 pandemic have been highly politicized.

A member of the W H O team told Reuters on Thursday that the mission's success depends on access to the relevant sources and that this can Onley be possible with the support from China.

China's initial delay of the mission drew rare public criticism from the W H O chief.

It's also been plagued by lingering concerns over access and bickering between China and the United States.

The U.

S has accused China of hiding the extent of the initial outbreak and criticized the terms of the wh O visit, under which Chinese experts conducted the first phase of research.

Meanwhile, China has pushed the idea that the virus existed abroad before it was discovered in Wuhan.

State media have cited the viruses presence on imported frozen food packaging, and scientific papers there say it had been circulating in Europe in 2019.

The W.

H O has sought to manage expectations for its investigation, with emergency chief Mike Ryan saying earlier this month that there are no guarantees of answers.