American news outlet Fox News has become the first major English language news outlet to publish claims that the virus which causes Covid-19 may have originated in a laboratory in Wuhan and that it was released as a result of lax safety precautions.
Fox News reporters Bret Baier and Gregg Re claimed that multiple sources who had been briefed on the details of early actions by China’s government and seen relevant materials had told the news outlet that there was growing evidence suggesting the virus was from a Wuhan lab.
The sources said the initial transmission of the virus was bat-to-human – a naturally occurring strain that was being studied in Wuhan – and that ‘patient zero’ worked at the laboratory, then accidentally exposed the population of Wuhan to the disease.
The sources did however emphasize that this theory was not definitive and should not be characterized as such.
United States embassy officials warned in January 2018 about inadequate safety at the Wuhan Institute of Virology lab and passed on information to the American government about scientists conducting risky research on coronavirus from bats, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
If proved to be true, this report will have significant geo-political consequences for the People’s Republic of China and the world, and may lead to a serious confrontation between China and the US.