A team of scientists from the World Health Organization on Wednesday visited the Chinese laboratory that American officials suggested could be the source of the coronavirus pandemic.
The WHO team spent about 3-1 / 2 hours at the heavily protected Wuhan Institute of Virology, in the city where the global pandemic was first detected in late 2019.
Although secretly about her work there, the team confirmed that they met Shi Zhengli, the deputy director of the laboratory nicknamed “Bat Woman” for her work with bat viruses, and one of the first to isolate the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
“An extremely important meeting today with the WIV team, including Dr. Shi Zhengli. Frank, open discussion. Key questions asked and answered ”, WHO team member Peter Daszak said on Twitter.
“Very interesting. Many questions,” Thea Fischer, a Danish team member, called out to his car as he sped away from the lab.
Wuhan’s longtime lab work with bat virus quickly put him in the spotlight when COVID-19 first emerged in his neighborhood in late 2019, leading to the city of 11 million people under a tight blockade of 76 days.
President Trump and his administration have repeatedly highlighted the institution on concerns that the virus had emerged from a “laboratory leak”.
Last month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the new intelligence only raised suspicions, with the State Department producing a “fact sheet” detailing the allegations – which now appears to be offline.
The laboratory, like the Chinese government, has repeatedly denied the allegations, with an official recently dismissing Pompeo as “Mr. Lies. “
The WHO team also spoke on Wednesday with experts from Huazhong Agricultural University, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.
“It should be noted that traceability of the virus is a complex scientific issue and we need to provide enough space for experts to conduct scientific research,” said Wang.
“China will continue to cooperate with WHO in an open, transparent and accountable manner, and will make its contribution to better preventing future risks and protecting the lives and health of people in all countries.”
Wired Poles