Published 14:14 IST, May 7th 2020
Mike Pompeo says US can't be certain about origin of coronavirus
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly said that the United States did not have any certainty about the origins of COVID- 19 pandemics.
- World News
- 2 min read
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly said that the United States did not have any certainty about the origins of COVID- 19 pandemic. This came in contradiction to his previous claim of certainty that the virus originated in a lab in China. Although Pompeo conceded that he couldn’t be certain of his claim, he continued to push that the infection originated in a lab in Wuhan.
'Seen evidence'
Scientists and experts have continuously retreated that the virus originated in the Chinese ‘wet markets’. While speaking to international media reporters on May 6, he asserted that he had “seen evidence” that it likely came from Wuhan Institute of Virology but he’d be happy to see “evidence that disapproves “ that.
According to critics, the US has continuously questioned China’s handling of the virus to deflect the attention from the rising number of infections on the American soil. As of now, 1,263,224 people have tested positive for the virus while 74,809 have died. Earlier while speaking to media reporters, Pompeo had claimed that the Trump administration knew enough to be confident that the lethal virus emerged in China. Speaking further, he said that though he couldn't disclose much about the intelligence they had collected with respect to that, they knew enough now to be confident that COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan's lab.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on May 4 that comments of US State Secretary Mike Pompeo over the origin of the novel coronavirus were “speculative”. Dr Mike Ryan, WHO’s top emergency expert, told a virtual press conference that the UN health agency has not received any data-specific evidence from the US government relating to the purported origin of the virus. He added that if data and evidence are available, then it will be for the United States government to decide whether and when it can be shared.
(Image credits: AP)
Updated 14:14 IST, May 7th 2020