WASHINGTON: The White House on Tuesday urged the World Health Organization to take additional steps to determine the origins of COVID-19 after a report on the issue failed to meet expectations of the United States and its allies.

"There's a second stage in this process that we believe should be led by international and independent experts. They should have unfettered access to data. They should be able to ask questions of people who are on the ground at this point in time, and that's a step the WHO could take," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.