SACP denounces politicization of COVID-19 origin tracing

JOHANNESBURG -- The South African Communist Party (SACP) released a statement on Thursday, denouncing the attempts at politicizing COVID-19 origin tracing.

In the statement, the SACP said virus origin or source tracing is a scientific undertaking, which should be viewed in a science-based, objective and fair manner, conducted with intellectual rigor, and in the interest of advancing global anti-pandemic cooperation.

"The SACP denounces attempts at politicizing scientific research. A part of the attempts involves geographic location naming of viruses or attacks against scientific research because of the countries involved in it," read the statement.

The scientific findings include the recognition that there are indications that COVID-19 cases took place before December 2019 in various places across the globe, it added.

"In this era of pandemics, scientific collaboration across our globe is critical for progress and for the protection of human society. The scientific field of origin or source tracing of viruses is a critical instrument in the campaign against their spread," the statement said.