'China covered up Wuhan lab leak of COVID, WHO involved,' suggest US GOP report

By Team Newsable | First Published Aug 4, 2021, 11:17 AM IST

On May 26, President Biden had announced a further investigation and asked the US Intelligence Committee to prepare a report in 90 days.

The coronavirus was indeed leaked from Wuhan laboratory in China, claimed a report by US Republicans and seeks proper investigation into the origin of the virus, which has caused millions of deaths across the globe in the past two years. The report titled 'The Origins of COVID-19: An Investigation of the Wuhan Insitute of Virology' was released by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Grand Old Party (GOP).

Earlier this week, the report was made public in addition to the one report released in September 2020 on the origins of the COVID pandemic.
The September 2020 report was about a possibility that the virus was leaked from the Wuhan lab and stated that the report has ultimately dismissed the wet market as the outbreak's source. It happened sometime before September 12, 2019.

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China and the World Health Organization (WHO) maintain the Covid pandemic most likely originated in a Wuhan wet market.
The Republican report state that the virus leaked from the Wuhan lab before September 12, when the central database of the Wuhan Institute went offline. Later, the following months went into futile cover-up exercise by the government and the scientists. This time, the report added that the World Health Organisation initially covered up the pandemic. It said dissenting doctors were detained, virus lab samples were destroyed, and China suppressed information on the human-to-human transmission of the virus.

However, the cover-up failed as the virus had already spread in Wuhan and other cities. China had also ultimately denied any Wuhan accident releasing the virus and blamed the United States for the virus' origin. Further adding, China did not share scientific samples of the virus for investigation, delayed sharing information, and restricted WHO's probe.
As per the report, the increased rush of patients with COVID was seen at Wuhan hospital during September and October. In October 2019, the Military World Games were held in Wuhan, and many athletes who returned home came with or developed COVID symptoms.
The US has also been blamed through the roles of Peter Daszak and some scientists.

The committee's report said they had uncovered evidence of how top scientists at the WIV and Dr Peter Daszak furthered that cover-up. It further said their actions include bullying other scientists who questioned whether the virus could have leaked from a lab; misleading the world about how a virus can be modified without being traced.
The report suggested that Dr Peter Daszak should testify before the US Congress on his role.

As Republicans claim, the report is based on "open-source information and includes published academic work, official PRC publications (both public and confidential), interviews, emails, and social media postings".

In May, 18 scientists wrote a letter to the WHO, demanding a new investigation to confirm whether the coronavirus was leaked from the Wuhan lab or originated naturally. After Joe Biden took over as US President, the White House asked China to share data of the coronavirus and as expected China refused, and blamed the US for targeting it. On May 26, President Biden had announced a further investigation and asked the US Intelligence Committee to prepare a report in 90 days.

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