China denies that covid was a laboratory accident in Wuhan

China denied this Monday (Feb 27, 2023) that the spread of the Sars-CoV-2 virus, the precursor to covid-19, was caused by an accidental leak in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The answer was given by Mao Ning, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country, in conversation with journalists. Here’s the full of the conference (1 MB, in English).

The Chinese spokeswoman said that tracing the origins of Sars-CoV-2 is based on science and should not be “politicized”.

“China has always supported and participated in science-based global origin tracing”said Ning.

The United States Department of Energy these that Sars-CoV-2 was likely spread from an accidental leak in a laboratory in the city of Wuhan.

However, the agency said it had carried out the analysis with “low confidence”. The information is in a confidential report sent to the White House and to some congressmen, to which the North American newspaper The Wall Street Journal was accessed and released on Sunday (Feb 26).

Wuhan was the focus of the 1st outbreak of covid-19 in the world. The exact origin of Sars-CoV-2 and how it contaminated humans has yet to be confirmed. However, in 2021, the WHO (World Health Organization) disclosed a scientific report which concluded that the virus spread through natural agents.

It is believed that the virus was transmitted from a bat to another mammal and, through it, Sars-CoV-2 infected humans. There is also another theory that the contamination was given directly from the bat to the human being.

The report, developed by scientists from several countries, including China, also says that the hypothesis that the virus arose from a laboratory incident is “extremely unlikely”.

Ning highlighted that this is a conclusion “scientific and reliable”achieved by the joint mission between WHO and China after research in Wuhan.

“It was registered (the result) accurately in the mission report and has received wide recognition from the international community.”added the spokeswoman.