Coronavirus made in Wuhan lab, govt covered up outbreak: Chinese virologist

A Chinese virologist currently based out of Hong Kong has claimed that the new coronavirus was created in a lab in Wuhan

A Chinese virologist currently based out of Hong Kong has claimed that the new coronavirus was created in a lab in Wuhan. Dr Li Meng Yan, a researcher at the Hong Kong School of Public Health, has also said that she could produce proof backing her allegations. This whistleblower against the Chinese government had earlier accused the Chinese government of covering up the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.

She was thereafter allegedly forced to shift to the United States over concerns around her safety. In December 2019, Yen was asked to focus on SARS-like cases coming out of mainland China. The virologist said that she carried out two pieces of research between December last year and January. Thereafter, the results were shared with the supervisor who is a World Health Organisation consultant. However, she was surprised when asked to maintain complete silence.

"They deleted all my information and also they told people to spread rumours about me," she said.

Yan had recently participated in an interview on British talk show "Loose Women" from a secret location. In the interview, she discussed her research on COVID-19 and the challenges being faced by her.

"The seafood market in Wuhan and all the intermediate hosts, these are the smokescreen and this virus is not from nature," she added. The Chinese officials knew that human-to-human transmission of the virus already existed, Yan said.

The virologist also said that the genome sequence of COVID-19 is similar to human fingerprint. It proves that the virus is man-made, she noted.  The outbreak of deadly COVID-19 may have been controlled if China had told the truth to the world at the right time, Yan said.Also read: Coronavirus vaccine: DCGI to decide on Serum Institute's clinical trials today

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