Covid, China moves the origin of the virus to Italy

NANKEEN – We don’t know where the coronavirus it has happened to man. It is almost certainly not in the famous market of Wuhan, maybe not even in that city. Researchers may never get to define it precisely. But around this scientific and physiological uncertainty when looking for the origin of a new pathogen, the China it is building a propaganda and disinformation campaign aimed at muddying the waters even more. A narrative that uses some facts and omits others, that exploits studies and statements by foreign scientists. All to support a hypothesis that is possible in theory, but that the scientific community considers unreliable, namely that the virus was not born in China. That it came “imported” from abroad, perhaps from countries that have detected the oldest cases, such as Italy. A narrative that would obviously release the Dragon from any responsibility for how he handled the first phase of contagion and indeed exalt him as the nation that first warned the world.

Norwegian salmon

From the beginning, the Trump administration has tried to turn that geographical indication, “the Chinese virus”, into an indictment. Even mounting conspiracy theories, if necessary. And as always, the Dragon defended itself by attacking, with the theory of the “imported virus”. In June, when an outbreak broke out in a Beijing market, technicians found traces of SARS-CoV-2 almost everywhere, but the focus was on a cutting board where Norwegian salmon had been cut. Is it possible that the virus is kept in frozen products and then released? It’s possible, scientists say, but it’s unlikely to infect anyone. On the other hand, for China, which has eliminated contagion within its borders, this theory becomes the official narrative, a rebound between less rigorous researchers and the regime’s media. All the small outbreaks that have broken out in the country since then can be traced back to imported frozen food, cleaning millions of packages until traces of the virus are found.

The Italian track

Meanwhile, the start date of the epidemic for China remains the same: December. Although it is a confidential document, revealed by the media, it dates back to a case in mid-November. Although an English investigation, reconstructing the genetic mutations, places the first infection between October and December, with great probability in the territory of the Dragon. Nothing: Beijing remains fixed in December and the only foreign newspapers it considers are those that reveal traces of the previous Sars-Cov-2, in spring in the sewers of Barcelona or in September in Italy, as the Tumor Institute of Milan writes. When Alexander Kekulé, a German scientist, says on television that most of the viral strains currently in circulation are derived from Italian, the Mandarin media remove that word, “currently”, and use it to support the cause. They cut the part where, a few seconds later, it said the original stock was Chinese.
The last step of the strategy was seen two days ago, when the nationalist newspaper Global times published an investigation titled “Could imported frozen foods have triggered the infection in Wuhan?” Official response, with quotes from several local scientists: Evidence is lacking, but cannot be ruled out. It is a pity that the same survey does not say that among the first positives registered in the city, several had no ties to the market. But China’s goal is not to reach a conclusion or explicitly accuse foreign countries. It is not a coincidence that the research indicating the origin of the virus in the Indian subcontinent was immediately withdrawn. No, Beijing is interested in using scientific uncertainty to disprove the most probable hypothesis, which is that the virus originated in China, and to prove one for which it has no evidence, which is that it originated elsewhere.

International research

“The search for the origin of the virus is a complex scientific question (…) an ongoing process that could involve several countries,” is now the official position of the regime. An attempt to shake things up that makes an already prohibitive investigation even more complex, like a needle in a haystack. The World Health Organization, in charge of carrying it out, has made up the team of experts, but Beijing has done everything possible to stop their entry into the country. After exhausting negotiations, the WHO has managed to allow technicians to go to Wuhan, but only at a later time, yet to be defined. The first on-site research will be entrusted to Chinese scientists. Not an encouraging game.