Published 14:23 IST, March 13th 2020
Chinese official says US Army might have brought coronavirus to Wuhan
A Chinese official made a sensational claim saying it might be the United States army who brought the coronavirus to Wuhan which later turned into a pandemic.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson made a sensational claim saying it might be the United States army who brought the coronavirus to Wuhan which later turned into a pandemic. After the National Security Adviser of the United States raised apprehensions about China’s transparency over the coronavirus cases, spokesperson Lijian Zhao took to Twitter questioning about the patient zero of the US.
Lijian shared a video of Robert Redfield, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), testifying to a US House Committee where he admitted that some presumable influenza deaths were posthumously diagnosed as COVID-19 case. He also asked the US to be transparent and make the data on the number of cases and names of hospital public.
The spokesperson also shared an article published on the website of Canada-based Centre for Research on Globalization which claimed that there has further evidence that the virus originated in the United States. The article, written by Larry Romanoff, claimed that Japanese and Taiwanese researchers have determined that the new coronavirus “almost certainly originated in the US” since that country is the only one known to have all five types.
'US turns deaf ear'
Another China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang dismissed the claims of the US official saying countries like Singapore and South Korea took necessary measures and put the epidemics under control because they made full use of this precious time China bought for the world. Refusing to comment on whether Washington’s response to the pandemic is open and transparent, he added that someone in the US still turns a deaf ear to international appraisal on China.
“As for whether the US availed itself of this window to enhance preparedness, we do not comment, but I believe the fact is witnessed by all in America and across the globe,” said Shuang at the regular press conference on March 12.
Updated 14:23 IST, March 13th 2020