Did COVID-19 escape from Wuhan Lab? New report suggests so

(MENAFN - NewsBytes)Wuhan, Wuhan news, Wuhan lab, Wuhan lab leak, Wuhan lab news, China, India, World, covid-19, covid-19 origins, covid-19 outbreak, covid-19 pandemic, covid-19 outbreak in China, report on COVID-19 outbreak, COVID-19 outbreak origins, China on COVID outbreak, US on COVID outbreak, US news, US latest news"> type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.newsbytesapp.com\/news\/world\/wuhan-lab-staff-sought-hospital-care-before-covid-19\/story"},"isPartOf":{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"NewsBytes","url":"https:\/\/www.newsbytesapp.com"},"inLanguage":"en","headline":"Did COVID-19 escape from Wuhan Lab? New report suggests so | NewsBytes","description":"Three researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China fell sick and sought hospital care in November 2019, weeks before the country officially revealed the outbreak of COVID-19, the Wall Street Journal reported citing a previously undisclosed US intelligence report","keywords":"Wuhan, Wuhan news, Wuhan lab, Wuhan lab leak, Wuhan lab news, China, India, World, covid-19, covid-19 origins, covid-19 outbreak, covid-19 pandemic, covid-19 outbreak in China, report on COVID-19 outbreak, COVID-19 outbreak origins, China on COVID outbreak, US on COVID outbreak, US news, US latest news","articleSection":"World News","url":"https:\/\/www.newsbytesapp.com\/news\/world\/wuhan-lab-staff-sought-hospital-care-before-covid-19\/story","image":["https:\/\/i.cdn.newsbytesapp.com\/images\/l20320210524102737.png","https:\/\/i.cdn.newsbytesapp.com\/images\/20320210524102737.png"],"datePublished":"2021-05-24T10:55:07+0530","dateModified":"2021-05-24T10:55:07+0530","articleBody":"Three researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China fell sick and sought hospital care in November 2019, weeks before the country officially revealed the outbreak of COVID-19, the Wall Street Journal reported citing a previously undisclosed US intelligence report. The development is significant as calls for a broader probe into whether the coronavirus might have escaped from a laboratory continue to grow. The report came ahead of a scheduled meeting of the World Health Organization's decision-making body, which is expected to discuss the next phase of an investigation into COVID-19's origins. However, officials cited by the paper remained divided over the report. While some said the evidence was strong, others believed the issue required further investigation and more corroboration. Earlier this year, a WHO-led team had spent weeks in Wuhan to investigate the coronavirus'' origins. In its final report, the team said the virus was most likely transmitted to humans from bats through another animal, adding a lab leak was extremely unlikely. However, scientists from around the world have since called for a more rigorous data-based probe to rule out the lab theory. Notably, the previous US federal government, led by Donald Trump, had said it suspected the virus had escaped from a Chinese lab. A State Department fact sheet read, The US government has reason to believe that several researchers inside the WIV became sick in autumn 2019, before the first identified case of the outbreak, with symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illnesses. Meanwhile, China has repeatedly denied the lab leak theory and said the virus came from animals. On Sunday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry slammed the US administration while citing the WHO team's conclusions. The US continues to hype the lab leak theory, it said. Is it actually concerned about tracing the source or trying to divert attention? Virologists believe November 2019 was the time when the coronavirus started circulating in the city of Wuhan. China has, however, said the first confirmed case was reported on December 8 that year. The COVID-19 pandemic has spread to almost all the countries across the globe, sickening more than 16 crore people and claiming the lives of over 34 lakh. ","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Sagar Malik","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.newsbytesapp.com\/author\/sagar\/158","https:\/\/twitter.com\/sagarmalik898 ","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/sagar-malik-252662141\/ "]},"publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","name":"NewsBytes","url":"https:\/\/www.newsbytesapp.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.newsbytesapp.com\/images\/newsbytesGoogle.png","width":202,"height":60,"associatedMedia":{"@type":"imageObject","url":"https:\/\/i.cdn.newsbytesapp.com\/images\/l20320210524102737.png","caption":"Did COVID-19 escape from Wuhan Lab? New report suggests so | NewsBytes","description":"Did COVID-19 escape from Wuhan Lab? New report suggests so | NewsBytes","width":1440,"height":810MENAFN01062021000165011035ID1102187936