G-7 leaders call for new investigation into COVID-19's origins

The leaders of the Group of Seven countries called for a new investigation into COVID-19's origins in China, issuing a communique urging a renewed effort by global health authorities to probe the circumstances surrounding the emergence of the coronavirus.

The group called for a "timely, transparent, expert-led, and science-based WHO-convened Phase 2 COVID-19 Origins study including, as recommended by the experts' report, in China." The World Health Organization published the results of an initial investigation in March, but the U.S. and others criticized the study's methodology and China's involvement in the probe. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a press conference Sunday that the G-7 leaders agreed to create "global pandemic radar" to spot diseases before they spread. The countries — the U.S., the U.K., Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan — have also committed to donating 1 billion vaccines around the world, 500 million of which will come from the U.S.