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Summary
- Deputy National Security Adviser of Donald Trump stated leak from China lab is evolving as the extremely credible source of the novel coronavirus.
- He claimed the COVID-19 virus might have escaped from the lab through a leak or an accident.
- Beijing refusal to allow journalists to go to the laboratory increased the suspicion.
It has been one year since the world first confronted COVID-19, a deadly respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. The colossal damage caused by the pandemic is evident from the fact that 83.32 million cases have been confirmed so far (as of 3 January 2021 at 6:51 PM CET) with 1.831 million deaths (WHO data).
The origin of the virus has been discussed on several occasions with different sources indicating different origins sites. Recently, a US government official stated that the most credible theory for the birth of novel coronavirus is that it escaped from Wuhan’s lab.
US officials claim that there is evidence COVID-19 escaped from Wuhan lab
The Deputy National Security Adviser of Donald Trump, Matthew Pottinger, stated that the most credible theory concerning the cause of COVID-19 is that the coronavirus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.
US Officials claimed COVID-19 might have escaped by a ‘leak or an accident’ Image Source: MegapixlTM
Some media reports mention that Mr Pottinger told politicians worldwide that even the Chinese leaders now openly acknowledge the earlier claims that the coronavirus originating from a Wuhan market is misleading.
He said the virus might have escaped by an accident or a leak. He also stated that even Beijing’s establishment figures have publicly rejected the wet market story.
The comments were made last week in a video conference with MPs. WHO is preparing to fly a team of experts to the Asian giant to investigate the pandemic’s origin.
Mr Pottinger said that MPs across the world have a significant role in revealing the WHO’s investigation.
Mr Pottinger said in a statement:
Beijing’s refusal to permit journalists to visit the lab raised suspicion
The former Tory Party leader, Iain Duncan Smith, stated that Mr Pottinger’s comments represented strengthening of the US position on the assumption that the novel coronavirus came from a laboratory leak. He also added that that Beijing’s refusal to allow journalists to go to the laboratory served to raise suspicion that it was 'ground zero' for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Image Source: Shutterstock
Moreover, the claims that the novel coronavirus leaked from a Wuhan lab have been rejected by Beijing, highlighting it as a conspiracy theory.
