The Chinese lab eyed as a potential source of COVID-19 has admitted having three live strains of bat coronavirus on-site — but insisted none are the source of the global pandemic.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology has since 2004 “isolated and obtained some coronaviruses from bats,” its director Wang Yanyi said in an interview that aired Saturday, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“Now we have three strains of live viruses… But their highest similarity to SARS-CoV-2 only reaches 79.8 percent,” Yanyi said, referring to the coronavirus strain that causes COVID-19.
Her scientists had never “encountered, researched or kept the virus” until it received samples on December 30, when it had already unknowingly taken hold on Wuhan, the contagion’s epicenter, she said.
“In fact, like everyone else, we didn’t even know the virus existed,” she said of the new virus that as of Sunday had infected more than 5.3 million and killed more than 340,000 worldwide.
Chinese scientists have always said that the virus first emerged at a wet market selling live animals in Wuhan.
But US authorities raised suspicions over the lab at the heart of the epicenter — claims that the World Health Organization have insisted are purely “speculative” without evidence being offered?
This story has been shared 91,195 times
This story has been shared 59,484 times
This story has been shared 57,090 times
This story has been shared 55,532 times
UK
Australia
France
Germany
Russia
India
Canada