China lab rejects COVID-19 conspiracy claims, but virus origins still a mystery

By David Stanway

 

FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a face mask is seen on a street after the lockdown was lifted in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province and China's epicentre of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, April 10, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song

 

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Claims that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan have no basis in fact, the head of the lab told Reuters, adding that there were still no conclusive answers as to where the disease started.

 

Conspiracy theorists have claimed SARS-CoV-2, now responsible for more than 200,000 deaths worldwide, was synthesised by the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), based in the city where the disease was first identified.

 

Though the scientific consensus is that the coronavirus evolved naturally, such claims have gained traction. U.S. President Donald Trump said on April 15 that his government was investigating whether it had originated in the Wuhan lab.

 

Yuan Zhiming, professor at WIV and the director of its National Biosafety Laboratory, said “malicious” claims about the lab had been “pulled out of thin air” and contradicted all available evidence.

 

“The WIV does not have the intention and the ability to design and construct a new coronavirus,” he said in written responses to questions from Reuters. “Moreover, there is no information within the SARS-CoV-2 genome indicating it was manmade.”

 

Some conspiracy theories were fuelled by a widely read scientific paper from the Indian Institute of Technology, since withdrawn, claiming that proteins in the coronavirus shared an “uncanny similarity” with those of HIV. However, most scientists now say SARS-CoV-2 originated in wildlife, with bats and pangolins identified as possible host species.

 

“More than 70% of emerging infectious diseases originated from animals, especially wild animals,” Yuan said.

 

“In recent years, we have seen increasing risks posed by close contact between humans and wild animals, with global climate change and the continuous expansion of human activities,” he said.

 

All seven known human coronaviruses have origins in bats, mice or domestic animals, scientists say.

 

Yuan also rejected theories that the lab had accidentally released a coronavirus it had harvested from bats for research purposes, saying the lab’s biosecurity procedures were strictly enforced.

 

“High-level biosafety labs have sophisticated protective facilities and strict measures to ensure the safety of laboratory staff and protect the environment from contamination,” he said.

 

‘STILL NO ANSWERS’

 

Conspiracy theories are common during epidemics.

 

Russian scientists claimed the SARS outbreak in 2002-2003 originated in a lab, and during the emergence of HIV/AIDS in the late 1970s, some political groups also claimed the virus had been “spliced” together by government scientists.

 

Though the new coronavirus was first identified in Wuhan, conspiracy theories circulating within China have suggested the virus did not originate there.

 

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Twitter in March that the coronavirus might have emerged in the United States, and there has been speculation on Chinese social media that it reached Wuhan via the World Military Games, held there in October.

 

Yuan did not comment directly on the claims, but said there were “still no answers” about the virus’s origins. He cited a paper by British and German scientists published this month suggesting that the SARS-CoV-2 variant circulating in the United States was a more “primitive” version of the one in China, and might have appeared there first.

 

“Tracing the virus’s origin is a very challenging scientific question with strong uncertainty,” Yuan said.

 

China has been accused of underestimating its total number of cases and trying to cover up the origins of the disease, which the government rejects.

 

Asked whether his institute would cooperate with an international inquiry into the pandemic, Yuan said that he was unaware of “such a mechanism”, but that the laboratory was already inspected regularly.

 

He added that his institute was committed to transparency and would share all available data about the coronavirus in a timely fashion.

 

“I hope everyone will put aside their prejudices and biases in order to provide a rational environment for research on tracing the origin of the virus,” he said.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-04-28

 

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4 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Twitter in March that the coronavirus might have emerged in the United States,

 

4 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

Claims that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan

this is like a ping pong game .....  it's not me it's you

They're lying.

 

That propaganda minister Zhao is a bit touchy too, he blocks people who question what he's saying on Twitter. He blocked one of my accounts. The guy is the liar in chief for China.

 

And when a scientist finds any genuine evidence there is going to be more who contradict said evidence, rightly or wrongly and the circle of blame carries on. Possible we will never know and no one is going to admit it was their fault, evidence or no evidence.

Nothing to see here, folks.  Move along.

 

From The Times - Chinese scientists destroyed proof of virus in December

 

"Chinese laboratories identified a mystery virus as a highly infectious new pathogen by late December last year, but they were ordered to stop tests, destroy samples and suppress the news, a Chinese media outlet has revealed."

6 minutes ago, ukrules said:

They're lying.

 

That propaganda minister Zhao is a bit touchy too, he blocks people who question what he's saying on Twitter. He blocked one of my accounts. The guy is the liar in chief for China.

 

you haven't seen anything yet.... there are a lot of them like him and some held ambassador's jobs, trained/instructed for aggressively answering any questions challenging their politburo, they are not supposed to be on the defense but rater on the attack

THE CONTROVERSIAL EXPERIMENTS AND WUHAN LAB SUSPECTED OF STARTING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

https://www.newsweek.com/controversial-wuhan-lab-experiments-that-may-have-started-coronavirus-pandemic-1500503?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1588019141

"Tracing the origin of a new virus is not easy. It took researchers at the Wuhan Institute more than a decade to trace the 2002-2003 SARS virus to remote bat caves in Yunnan province. It's not surprising, then, that in early February, China's Academy for Military Medical Sciences "concluded that it was impossible for them to scientifically determine whether the Covid-19 outbreak was caused naturally or accidentally from a laboratory incident" 

27 minutes ago, ukrules said:

They're lying.

 

That propaganda minister Zhao is a bit touchy too, he blocks people who question what he's saying on Twitter. He blocked one of my accounts. The guy is the liar in chief for China.

 

He is like China's version of "Chemical Ali"...

This article dishonestly conflates 2 completely different issues. The first is whether the virus is man-made or came from animals and it definitely seems to be from bats. The second is whether or not it escaped from the lab in Wuhan. That's not a conspiracy theory, it's an accident. Or are we supposed to believe in the biggest coincidence ever - that the one place in China where they were researching bat coronaviruses had absolutely nothing to do with the outbreak of a bat coronavirus in humans just down the road.

Edited April 28, 20206 yr by edwardandtubs

You can believe the Chinese.  They have centuries of history filled with truth and integrity...

 

Now would you like a free bowl of bat shxt soup...our special recipe!

2 hours ago, Mavideol said:

you haven't seen anything yet.... there are a lot of them like him and some held ambassador's jobs, trained/instructed for aggressively answering any questions challenging their politburo, they are not supposed to be on the defense but rater on the attack

Yeah, I've been blocked by a couple of their ambassadors on Twitter as well as the dude in Beijing.

1 hour ago, TommyBlue said:

THE CONTROVERSIAL EXPERIMENTS AND WUHAN LAB SUSPECTED OF STARTING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

https://www.newsweek.com/controversial-wuhan-lab-experiments-that-may-have-started-coronavirus-pandemic-1500503?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1588019141

"Tracing the origin of a new virus is not easy. It took researchers at the Wuhan Institute more than a decade to trace the 2002-2003 SARS virus to remote bat caves in Yunnan province. It's not surprising, then, that in early February, China's Academy for Military Medical Sciences "concluded that it was impossible for them to scientifically determine whether the Covid-19 outbreak was caused naturally or accidentally from a laboratory incident" 

There's a guy from Wales who got ill with COVID at the end of November, his name is Connor Reed.

 

That would make him one of the very first cases in Wuhan.

2 hours ago, rasmus5150 said:

He is like China's version of "Chemical Ali"...

i'm thinking of someone closer to home.

 

"i'm the ministry spokesman, and you're fake news!"

2 hours ago, ukrules said:

They're lying.

 

That propaganda minister Zhao is a bit touchy too, he blocks people who question what he's saying on Twitter. He blocked one of my accounts. The guy is the liar in chief for China.

 

Where is your evidence that ‘they are lying’?

26 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Where is your evidence that ‘they are lying’?

That they speak

11 hours ago, ukrules said:

Yeah, I've been blocked by a couple of their ambassadors on Twitter as well as the dude in Beijing.

Reading your post history, I don’t have to be a Chinese ambassador to see why people block you. 

If they are telling the truth, open the doors and allow international team of experts in to investigate or no one will believe them.

Everybody must think there own thoughts, me, any race that eats cats and dogs and endangered animals, whose citizens act like savages on  holiday in my mind need avoiding, also if you avoid them they cant spit on your feet, savages.

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

China lab rejects COVID-19 conspiracy claims, but virus origins still a mystery

So lets see the wet market does not sell bats and the horseshoe bats closest known location is approximately 1,000 meters from Wuhan.  The lab which is only a short distance from the wet market studies viruses.  Has had as one of its researchers a Chinese woman known as the bat woman for her research on bat viruses.  At least one researcher at the lab has gone missing.  Sure I believe that a bat flew 1000 km to visit the wet market, bit a pig which then infected a human.  Same government who also said the virus could not be transmitted human to human. 

• someone trying trying to not lose his face...

Strange how all Chinese dissenters of CCP’s Wuhan virus actions and approach—have disappeared.

13 minutes ago, Isaan sailor said:

Strange how all Chinese dissenters of CCP’s Wuhan virus actions and approach—have disappeared.

Do you personally know of anyone that has disappeared? Or are you just relying on fake news, as your beloved idol claims?

29 minutes ago, Thomas J said:

So lets see the wet market does not sell bats and the horseshoe bats closest known location is approximately 1,000 meters from Wuhan.  The lab which is only a short distance from the wet market studies viruses.  Has had as one of its researchers a Chinese woman known as the bat woman for her research on bat viruses.  At least one researcher at the lab has gone missing.  Sure I believe that a bat flew 1000 km to visit the wet market, bit a pig which then infected a human.  Same government who also said the virus could not be transmitted human to human. 

Yes, ignore scientific consensus and go for the conspiracy theories, much more believable. Lol

 

And again that nonsense, they did not say it can not be transmitted human to human. Read the exact quote and spot the difference.

Edited April 29, 20206 yr by stevenl

It is without doubt a Chinese virus.

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Yuan also rejected theories that the lab had accidentally released a coronavirus it had harvested from bats for research purposes, saying the lab’s biosecurity procedures were strictly enforced.

So does that mean the virus was in the lab  but couldn't possibly escape because of

"strict security measures"  ???

16 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Where is your evidence that ‘they are lying’?

past history

55 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Yes, ignore scientific consensus and go for the conspiracy theories, much more believable. Lol

 

And again that nonsense, they did not say it can not be transmitted human to human. Read the exact quote and spot the difference.

"Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) identified in #Wuhan, #China," the organization had said.

It also relied on information from Chinese health authorities who have been accused of obscuring facts and figures during the course of the outbreak.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/world-health-organization-january-tweet-china-human-transmission-coronavirus

18 hours ago, ukrules said:

He blocked one of my accounts.

Why do you have multiple accounts? Seems unnecessary.

1 hour ago, Thomas J said:

the wet market does not sell bats and the horseshoe bats closest known location is approximately 1,000 meters from Wuhan.

...you ARE aware that markets EVERYWHERE get their meat and produce MORE than a km from where they are located, right?

        People that play with fire, can expect to get burnt.