"Die Zeit": evidence multiplies in favor of the laboratory version of the origin of the coronavirus

The transition of the virus from animal to human has become the main version of the emergence of a pandemic. The theory that the virus is man-made and originated in a laboratory has long been considered a conspiracy theory. Gradually, the attitude towards her is changing. American President Biden ordered a large-scale investigation into whether the virus could have leaked at the Institute of Virology in Hubei province, where viruses are being researched. The results, published in August, suggest that the assumption that the covid pathogen could have entered the outside world through negligence is plausible, although not proven.

Most of the scientific community considered the laboratory hypothesis secondary, favoring the zoonotic, natural transmission of the virus from animals to humans. In addition, a joint report by the World Health Organization and China on the causes of the pandemic in March 2021 argued that the theory of a man-made virus was called unlikely.

However, other scientists have pointed out that the American zoologist Peter Dasszak, hired by WHO as an expert and one of the co-authors of the report, has attracted US funding for the Wuhan Institute for many years. Thus, they indicated a conflict of interest. Therefore, in the spring, they considered a possible incident to be as likely a cause of the spread of the virus as the zoonotic pathway.

Questions still remain, and the main one is why the Chinese government continues to obstruct an independent investigation. According to London's "The Times", before the publication of the report, China set a condition: the version of the leak in the WHO report can only be mentioned if there is no further investigation at the Institute of Virology. In May 2021, the WSJ reported that three employees of the institute had symptoms similar to covid as early as November 2019. Science magazine suggested that the natural outbreak of the pandemic should have occurred in Hubei province between mid-October and November 2019. Indeed, there is more and more information that the first patients with covid symptoms were treated there already in October. Moreover, this happened regardless of where the virus originated from - in nature or in the laboratory. However, the first reports of a new lung disease did not reach WHO until December 31, 2019.

The Chinese Communist Party bears its share of responsibility for the spread of the virus. The Chinese could contain the epidemic if they used the early warning systems they have. A similar situation was already in 2002-2003: the first SARS-Cov epidemic spread around the world, according to the American Academy of Sciences and the US Congress, only because local party leaders jammed all information about it, as a result, the world community learned about the new infection too late.

The spread of covid could be slowed down this time too, if the Chinese authorities immediately described the symptoms of the new disease and transmitted them to the world community.

In 2002, in Guangdong in the same China, the coronavirus was transmitted to humans naturally. But already in 2003 and 2004, four incidents of transmission of the virus to humans in laboratories were recorded. It happened in Singapore, Taipei and twice in Beijing, according to scientific journals, citing WHO investigations.

For nearly two years, the CCP party bosses have been trying to divert public attention and not broaden the discussion about China's responsibility. In fact, the March WHO report was dictation from Beijing. The group did not include a single scientist who would take part in the investigation of incidents in the laboratory. But there were many researchers who are involved in the transmission of viruses from animals to humans.

And just last week, the World Health Organization announced that it would launch a new investigation focusing on laboratories in cities where covid was first registered.