A recent report by Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has now raised a clash between the US and China. WSJ published an investigative report on Sunday based on a previous US intelligence report that pointed that three researchers working at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) developed COVID-like symptoms ahead of the official date of the breakout.
As per WSJ’s investigative piece, it was stated that these researchers from WIV sought hospital care in November 2019, months ahead of China’s disclosure of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, it is important to note that the report published in the WSJ which is actually based on the report of Intelligence agencies has fuelled the unconfirmed theory that the virus may have escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). The WSJ writeup built on the unconfirmed reports has strongly suggested that a lab leak could have been the cause of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Citing the WSJ report during the WHO meeting to discuss the next stage of a probe into the COVID-19 origins, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said, “The report that mentions three people getting sick, is completely false.” He further added, “The United States is trying to hype up the lab leak theory. Does it care about traceability or is it just trying to distract attention?”
While the Director of the lab, Yuan Zhiming claimed that the report is a complete lie and the allegations are baseless.