The mission has become politically charged as China seeks to avoid blame for alleged missteps in its early response to the outbreak.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media that a World Health Organisation team has emerged from quarantine in the Chinese city of Wuhan to start a fact-finding mission on the origins of the virus that caused the Covid-19 pandemic.

The researchers, who were required to complete 14 days in quarantine after arriving in China, left their quarantine hotel and boarded a bus in the afternoon. It was not immediately clear where they were heading.

The mission has become politically charged as China seeks to avoid blame for alleged missteps in its early response to the outbreak.