A new report may offer new evidence to support the idea that the novel coronavirus first leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China.
As the New York Post reported, several researchers at the lab fell ill around the same time that COVID-19 was first reported around the Chinese city. Though health experts largely believe that the virus was first transferred to humans through an animal, potentially at the city’s wet market, there have been growing questions about whether a lab studying viruses could have played a role.
Lab Theory Emerges
As the New York Post reported, there have been growing questions about whether the Wuhan Institute of Virology could have played a role in the initial outbreak of the virus. This international laboratory studied viruses including coronavirus, leading many to fear that an accidental release of the virus was the real culprit, not an animal.
Now, there may be evidence that some of the earliest infections took place among those working in the laboratory, weeks before China would reveal to the world community that there had been a dangerous viral outbreak.
New Evidence
The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States has gathered intelligence about the outbreak, finding that some lab workers became ill in symptoms similar to COVID-19 in the fall of 2019.
These infections would be roughly around the same time that the first cases in China began to emerge. It was not clear exactly when the lab infections could have taken place, but it was not until the end of December that officials in the city of Wuhan made the first public warning.
Lab Leak Theory Growing
As the New York Post noted, there are growing questions about whether the lab could have been the true source of the initial outbreak, though there is still no definitive answer.
“The theory that the coronavirus accidentally leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology into the wider population has gained credence as a viable explanation in recent weeks, following a World Health Organization-led investigation and report — compiled with the help of the Chinese government — that left many other nations dissatisfied,” the report noted.
China Adds To Suspicion
As the report added, China has added to the suspicion through what many critics see as a lack of transparency on the virus. Others believe that top Chinese officials are being purposely misleading on where the virus first originated.
“China has contributed to the suspicion, with the lab not releasing records related to its work on coronaviruses in bats,” the report noted. “Meanwhile, Beijing has pushed a series of wild theories, including that the coronavirus spread through imported frozen food packaging and originated at a biomedical research facility at Fort Detrick in Maryland.”
