US President Joe Biden has ordered staffers to investigate and confirm the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic, pointing out that rival scenarios, including a possible Chinese lab leak, continue to circulate. Biden says US intelligence agencies are exploring 2 likely theories but have yet to reach concrete conclusions, with debate raging around both.
“I have now asked the Intelligence Community to redouble their efforts to collect and analyse information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion, and to report back to me in 90 days. As part of that report, I have asked for areas of further inquiry that may be required, including specific questions for China.”
While the pandemic has now claimed more than 3 million lives globally, experts appear no closer to confirming how it all started, although scientists still favour the evidence supporting a zoonotic origin, probably from a Wuhan wet market. The first reported cases were detected in Wuhan, central China, late in December 2019.
In March of this year, the World Health Organisation issued a report that had been jointly written with Chinese scientists. The WHO had just spent 4 weeks in the Wuhan area and concluded the virus had probably jumped from bats to humans via another animal. They appeared to dismiss the theory that it could have been the result of an accident at a research laboratory.
There is frustration among US officials over what is seen as a lack of sufficient cooperation from China. Washington is now calling on the WHO to launch a second phase of its investigation into Covid-19’s origins. WHO emergency director Mike Ryan has responded by saying an update on proposed next steps will be provided in the coming weeks.
SOURCE: Thai PBS World
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Let’s start a war with China over a cold
The US Intel agencies were funding (via USAID) research into Corona viruses back to 2015 and before according to this article:
Published: 09 November 2015 A SARS-like cluster of circulating bat coronaviruses shows potential for human emergence
Nature Medicine volume 21, pages 1508–1513 (2015)
So lets hope they can find something.
Are the findings from Fort Detrick public knowledge yet? No? Why not?
Bats are cute, fluffy mammals, highly sophisticated and intelligent! unlike the Thai Cabinet!
Good idea @Ynwaps. We could coin the phrase “Cold War” !!
On a serious note however, China does have a lot of question to answer. Not only around its potential source, but also how they failed to alert the world to the growing problems and taking action against their own doctors who tried to highlight it. Of course none of this will happen, and all I’ve heard today from China is how the U.S is being “disrespectful” in its actions. We are talking about a virus that has killed millions, done Trillions of damage to economies and destroyed the health and life of billions of people. Yet the Chinese government are more concerned about respect and protocol.
“THE” CHINA VIRUS!!
First of all, Biden quietly ended America’s investigation into COVID-19 origins several months ago. Now he’s re-initiating what appears to be an investigation, but it isn’t an actual investigation. At best it is confirmation of what Chinese officials told WHO investigators earlier this year, which was a tainted investigation as well. The President of the WHO said in a televised interview that there remained significant questions. For instance:
a) WHO investigators were NOT allowed independent access to the Wuhan Lab, they were guided by Chinese officials who told them which rooms were within limits and off-limits.
b) WHO investigators were provided curated responses to their questions from the Chinese Peoples’ Liberation Army and were not allowed to interview lab employees outisde the presence of military officials.
c) The Chinese Government as well as the PLA claimed that the lab leak theory was implausible and that patient zero contracted the virus through contact with a wild bat, either through consumption or through physical contact.
d) Chinese officials, WHO officials, and UN officials have all searched extensively for any bat in the wild with COVID-19. None have been found in the wild. However, several bats with COVID-19 do exist. In the Wuhan Lab.
Dr Anthony Fauci, America’s beloved chief medical advisor to the President, even admitted several days ago that he’s not convinced the virus didn’t leak from the Wuhan lab, a theory that was slammed by nearly every American media outlet as racist, cartoonish, and pure fantasy under the previous administration.
Glad to see this is finally getting a little attention, but nothing is going to happen. Biden is weak, and Chinese officials will never, ever admit to their mistake.