The World Health Organization is sending a team to China to better understand how the novel coronavirus started, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a briefing on Monday.

“Knowing the source of the virus is very, very important,” Tedros said. “We can find the virus better when we know everything about the virus, including how it started.”

“We will be sending a team next week to China to prepare for that,” he said.

Tedros said he hopes the visit will lead to “understanding how the virus started and what we can do for the future to prepare.”

Tedros said the team will head to China next week.