Wuhan Institute reportedly tried to hide coronavirus from US scientists, emails reveal

A journalistic investigation reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic could have been controlled in time and prevented a catastrophe if the Wuhan Institute of Virology – designated as one of the places where the coronavirus could originate – and the Chinese government had not obstructed the delivery of samples of the new pathogen SARS-CoV-2 to US scientists.

In late January 2020, as the virus was beginning to infect hundreds of people in Wuhan, scientists at the Galveston National Laboratory in Texas sought access to the pathogen and communicated via emails with their colleagues at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. – whom they had trained – but only found reluctance.

According to the South China Morning Post, which obtained these emails, the Galveston Laboratory, affiliated with the United States government, waited for days for the requested ones, while a specialist in Wuhan monitoring the transfer of the virus reported little progress in a process that seemed hampered. This slowness would respond to the bureaucratic obstacles of the Chinese regime.

The information details that China He gave up sharing the material during the early days of the pandemic, experts with knowledge of the archives said. Likewise, the slow response was a turning point when it was asked to act immediately to prevent the outbreak of the disease.

For the then director of the Texas laboratory, James Le Duc, the delays were aimed at discrediting China’s international position and limiting scientists for their own studies.

“You are in a very challenging position and you are doing a great job. However, I would recommend that you quickly organize and implement a way to share isolates from [virus] reference”Le Duc wrote in a Jan.22 email to Yuan Zhiming, director of the National Biosafety Laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

“With cases occurring outside of China, others will soon have their own isolations and China will have lost the opportunity for leadership. And if scientific publications by Chinese researchers start to appear without the world having independent access to a strain, China is likely to be heavily criticized. “the message continued.

China has been accused of covering up the true origin of the COVID-19 months after the pandemic started.

In August, the investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 “It is at a standstill” and it is urgent to resume it, since the more time passes, the more difficult it will be to conclude it, experts warned in a report by the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Research on the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is at a critical moment” and “the window to carry out this crucial research is closing rapidly,” they explained in a rostrum published by the journal Nature.

China rejected on August 13 the call of the WHO for further investigation to be carried out in Wuhan.

Joe Biden blamed China for the coronavirus

US President Joe Biden accused China of withholding “crucial information” about the origins of the China pandemic. COVID-19, after hearing a report from the intelligence services that does not resolve the issue of the emergence of the virus.

“There is crucial information about the origins of this pandemic in China, but from the beginning Chinese government officials have worked to prevent international researchers and members of the global public health community from accessing it.”Biden said in a statement.

“To this day, China continues to reject calls for transparency and withhold information, even as the number of victims of this pandemic continues to rise.”added the president.

In reaction, the Chinese embassy in Washington accused the US intelligence services of “political manipulation.”

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