Alwaght- China rejected accusations that the novel coronavirus was originated in a lab in Wuhan, where the outbreak was first recorded.
“I want to remind you that the head of the [World Health Organization] has repeatedly stated that there is no evidence that the novel coronavirus has been produced in the laboratory,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters on Thursday.
He added that “many well-known medical experts in the world also believe that the claims about the so-called leak [of the virus] from a laboratory are not based on science.”
Zhao was answering a question about a recent story by Fox News. Citing anonymous sources, the news channel reported that the deadly coronavirus had originally spread from a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan, and that the first person to be infected was an employee of the facility.
One of China’s leading virology research centers is based in Wuhan – a fact that has led to speculation by some Western politicians and media that the virus may have been developed there as a biological weapon or may have been accidentally let loose by scientists after studying coronaviruses in bats. Beijing has repeatedly denied these allegations.
