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Workers wearing protective gear catch a salamander that left the Huanan market in Wuhan on January 27. The coronavirus is believed to have spread from wild animals for sale in this market. Photo: Chinatopix via AP / NTB scanpix
The head of a laboratory in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic is supposed to have started, rejects claims that the outbreak spread from its facilities.
Authorities in China have faced increasing pressure lately and demands for transparency on how they have managed the epidemic in the country from the beginning. The epidemic eventually turned into a pandemic. The rumors have spread, and the United States is now investigating whether the virus actually comes from a virological institute with a high-security laboratory for environmental safety.
Chinese researchers have said they consider the virus likely to have originated from bats, to have spread to other animals and to jump from animals to humans in so-called wet markets in Wuhan, where wild animals are traded.
But the fact that the virus lab exists has created the basis for conspiracy theories and speculation that viruses actually originate from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, specifically the P4 lab, which is equipped to deal with viruses. dangerous.
Background: US diplomats warned about the Wuhan lab two years ago
rejections
In an interview with the English-language state broadcaster CGTN on Saturday, the head of the laboratory, Yuan Zhiming, said the virus was not possible by them.
No one of his staff has been infected with the virus, he says.
He adds that the institute already investigated and debunked the theory in February and that the information was shared with the World Health Organization (WHO) in early January.
But lately, the White House has expressed doubts about how the virus began to spread.
“We hear this story more and more,” President Donald Trump said when asked about the theory of the laboratory at a press conference on Wednesday.
Have you seen this? In China, pangolin shells are a medical marvel, shells and meat are so sought after that pangolin is soon eradicated. This case takes a closer look at why wild animals are so sought after in traditional Chinese medicine:
United States will investigate
Both Trump and his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have said the United States has launched an investigation to find out what happened when the outbreak began.
Britain’s Foreign Minister Dominic Raab also called for an investigation into the causes of the pandemic after a video meeting for the G7 countries on Thursday. The United States had started the meeting.
A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Zhao Lijian, tried the same day to curb speculation about the laboratory theory.
“Many reputable medical experts have confirmed that there is no scientific basis for claims that the virus was leaked from a laboratory,” said Zhao.
However, he also called for more research into the origin of the coronavirus.
– Draw endings
When asked about the institute’s research, the virus may have come from the P4 lab, Yuan replies:
– I know it’s impossible. As people conducting viral studies, we clearly know what kind of research is being done at the institute and how the institute handles viruses and samples.
He goes on to say that since they are infected with viruses and are in Wuhan, people cannot stop drawing, but he also points out that some media cannot deceive.
The Washington Post and Fox News have cited anonymous sources expressing concern that the virus may have come from the P4 lab in error.
Yuan says these cases are only based on speculation, without evidence or knowledge.
Wuhan authorities initially tried to hide the outbreak, and questions were asked about the official number of cases of infection, where criteria have been changed several times.
For this week, city authorities admitted mistakes and adjusted the death toll by 50 percent.
– It is not conspiracy theory
Several different virus theories and claims have emerged since the virus outbreak. Many of these are completely devoid of fact and are considered conspiracy theories.
But the hypothesis that an accident could have occurred in a Chinese laboratory is also being debated by some researchers.
– In my opinion, this is not a conspiracy theory. “I think this is a legitimate question that needs to be investigated and answered,” researcher Xiao Qiang of the University of Berkeley in the United States told the Washington Post before the weekend.
Professor Richard Ebright of Rutgers University said the outbreak is at least as likely to start in a laboratory as anywhere else in China.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhao Lijian said earlier this year that US soldiers may have brought the crown virus to China, a statement that is not absolutely confirmed.
Have you seen this? In 2003, the virus characterized the SARS news image, now the Corona virus makes the world stop. Both date back to China and both date back to the same type of environment:
