In 2018, the State Department sent cables warning of safety issues at the Wuhan Virology Institute.
I recently noted that new research indicates that COVID-19 could kill the immune cells that regularly kill the viruses, similar to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
Additionally, we have also reported that:
- Chinese researchers published a paper indicating that the novel coronavirus “probably originated from a laboratory in Wuhan.”
- Molecular biologist Richard H. Ebright declared that no one could eliminate the possibility of coronavirus originating from nature or a lab.
- Chinese officials had evidence of Wuhan Coronavirus destroyed in December.
It appears that U.S. intelligence is considering the possibility that the pandemic might have started by accident at a research facility rather than by an infection from a wet market.
After extensive research, scientists in the U.S. and elsewhere have determined that the new strain of the coronavirus discovered in China in December is, as Chinese officials have maintained, of natural origin, but they are taking seriously that its route to human infection may have started in a lab in Wuhan.
“It’s definitely a real possibility being bandied about at the high levels of the administration,” said one of the sources, who has knowledge of China and national security.
“We are actively and vigorously tracking down every piece of information we get on this topic and we are writing frequently to update policymakers,” an intelligence official told Yahoo News. The intelligence community “has not come down on any one theory.”
While Chinese officials were quick to link the origin of the disease to infected animals at the Wuhan Seafood Market, which was formally closed on Jan. 1, scientists have not traced the initial exposure back to any specific animals. Therefore, an alternative possibility remains — that a natural virus sample being studied at a research laboratory in Wuhan infected a researcher who spread it in the community, or it escaped via hazardous waste or a lab animal.
This news aligns with an opinion piece by columnist Josh Rogan in the Washington Post that in 2018, the State Department sent cables warned of safety issues at Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). The U.S. Embassy in Beijing sent science diplomats to the institute, which had in 2015 become China’s first laboratory to achieve the highest level of international bioresearch safety (known as BSL-4).
…What the U.S. officials learned during their visits concerned them so much that they dispatched two diplomatic cables categorized as Sensitive But Unclassified back to Washington. The cables warned about safety and management weaknesses at the WIV lab and proposed more attention and help. The first cable, which I obtained, also warns that the lab’s work on bat coronaviruses and their potential human transmission represented a risk of a new SARS-like pandemic.
“During interactions with scientists at the WIV laboratory, they noted the new lab has a serious shortage of appropriately trained technicians and investigators needed to safely operate this high-containment laboratory,” states the Jan. 19, 2018, cable, which was drafted by two officials from the embassy’s environment, science and health sections who met with the WIV scientists.
Rogan also noted that in November 2017, just before the U.S. officials’ visit, Shi Zhengli, the head of the research project, and her team published research showing that horseshoe bats they collected from a cave in Yunnan province were likely the source of the SARS coronavirus 2003 outbreak. Horseshoe bats have been suggested as the origin of the Wuhan coronavirus.
China has been desperately trying to erase its connection to the pandemic. So far, the attempts have been unsuccessful and been met with scorn and derision.
Now, Chinese officials are attempting to persuade others to praise China for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak. In one instance, they hoped the Wisconsin State Senate would prepare a resolution commending China’s actions.
In a pair of February emails sent to State Senate President Roger Roth, which were provided to National Review, a woman named Wu Ting, who claimed to be “responsible for China-Wisconsin relations,” asks Roth to “consider adopting a resolution expressing solidarity with the Chinese people in fighting the coronavirus.” The Chicago Chinese Consulate General’s official website matches the name to that of the wife of Chinese Consul General in Chicago Zhao Jian, and Ting confirmed her identity when reached for comment.
“The Consulate General wonders if the Wisconsin State Senate could consider adopting a resolution expressing solidarity with the Chinese people in fighting the coronavirus. It [sic] yes, it would be a great moral support to the Chinese people combating the disease,” Ting wrote in the email. “Much appreciated if you could give it a serious consideration. We have drawn up a draft resolution just for your reference.”
The attached draft resolution, which was first reported by the Wisconsin Examiner, states: “The State of Wisconsin will continue to support China in its effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus,” and says Beijing’s efforts have been “effective in curbing the virus from spreading to other parts of China and the world.”
The more China tries to hide the truth, the more it is obvious it has something significant, and likely deeply disturbing, to hide.
(Con’d) that because of lax safety protocols an intern was infected who later infected her boyfriend and then went to the wet market where it began to spread…” Trump demurred but said “More and more we are hearing the story.”
— Brit Hume (@brithume) April 15, 2020
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