New York (ANN)- A senior official at the World Health Organisation (WHO) has given his expertise assurance that the novel coronavirus is “natural in origin” contradicting US President Donald Trump who claimed the virus originated from a laboratory in China.

Head of Health Emergencies, Dr. Michael Ryan, said WHO teams have consulted “again and again” with many scientists who have looked at the gene sequences and the virus, “and we are assured that this virus is natural in origin”.

Ryan said it was important to establish the natural host of the virus, which could help pave the way for a better understanding of it and ways to prevent and respond to future outbreaks.

On Thursday, Trump had once more criticized the WHO over its response to the pandemic while suggesting that China was behind the outbreak of the deadly virus.

Trump claimed he had seen evidence to prove that the coronavirus pandemic had spread from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

However, the president declined to give details, claiming he was not allowed to do so. “I’m not allowed to tell you that,” he said at the White House news conference.

However, Trump went on  once more  to blame Beijing for negligence in its response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, letting the audience assume that the deadly virus could have been spread intentionally.

China, for its part, has repeatedly called on Trump to stop spreading lies and shifting blame. 

Beijing says it handled the new coronavirus pandemic responsibly, repeatedly insisting that it “has been nothing but open, transparent and responsible” in its efforts to inform the WHO and relevant countries about the pandemic and related information.

On the other hand, Beijing has advised Washington to stop blaming others for the outbreak based on unscientific conspiracy theories.

Instead, it advised the White House to concentrate on finding ways to contain the outbreak as quickly as possible.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, the origin of the novel coronavirus has been a hot issue discussed widely in various circles with conspiracy theorists linking it to biological warfare.

However, scientific studies have so far suggested that the virus is not a weapon that was developed in a secret military lab, and the COVID-19 virus originated through natural processes.