US' internal cables from 2018 shows officials raised concern about safety of Wuhan lab

The United States Department of State has released internal cables from 2018 detailing the messages from US Embassy officials in China who expressed concern over the safety and lack of trained personnel at the Virology lab in Wuhan, the city which in 2020 became the epicentre for the novel coronavirus outbreak. The United States has long claimed that the virus that is raging havoc across the world has been released from the Wuhan virology lab, without stating whether the release was deliberate or an accident. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also echoed similar speculations without providing any evidence. 

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US President Donald Trump in May had claimed that he has seen evidence that suggested that the deadly virus originated from a lab in Wuhan, which Chinese officials dismissed saying that the president was spreading false information. The US Department of State has said that the cables from 2018 stated that the lab lacked adequate technicians and trained personnel to safely operate it. However, the messages by US Embassy officials nowhere states that an accident at the lab caused the virus outbreak. Health experts and scientists also believe the lab theory to be false as the study suggests that the virus may have spread through a bat. 

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COVID-19 outbreak

The coronavirus outbreak is believed to have originated from a seafood market in Wuhan, where exotic animals were reportedly being traded illegally. The United States is currently the worst affected country in the world, followed by Brazil and India. According to Johns Hopkins University, the total number of coronavirus cases in the world has breached the 14 million mark, with over 6,00,000 people dead as of July 17. The United States, Brazil, and India have recorded 3.6, 2.0, 1.0 million infections respectively, with over 1,39,000 deaths in the North American nation. 

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(Image Credit: AP)