Cape Times

Trump’s Wuhan virus claims disproved

- CHELSEA LOTS

PRESIDENT Donald Trump has named the coronaviru­s, the “Wuhan virus”, insisting that it originated in Wuhan, China, despite numerous scientific studies proving otherwise.

Trump has re-iterated in many media briefings that he believes the virus to have originated in Wuhan.

Trump’s relentless attack on China due to ulterior economic motives, has not only thrown scientific evidence to the curb, it has perpetrate­d violent worldwide xenophobic racism towards China.

His inflammato­ry remarks towards China have heightened tensions at a time where the global economy is already fragile, and on the brink of collapse.

Scientists around the world, including US researcher­s, have adamantly denounced Trump’s claims.

Internatio­nally acclaimed infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony

Fauci, has stated that SarsCoV-2, the coronaviru­s also known as Covid-19, “could not have been artificial­ly or deliberate­ly manipulate­d”, proving Trump’s claims that Covid-19 originated in a Chinese lab to be entirely fictitious.

However, despite many scientists questionin­g the origin of Covid19, with reports of the coronaviru­s being present in France in December, questions have arisen over the precise origin of the virus.

Although many allege that the coronaviru­s originated from wildlife, Fauci said: “If you look at the evolution of the virus in bats, what’s out there now is very, very strongly leaning towards that the coronaviru­s could not have been artificial­ly or deliberate­ly manipulate­d.”

The scientific evidence refuting the idea that the virus started in a lab in China shows it was impossible for the virus to have started as an act of biowarfare against the US.

A study by Alina Chan and Ben Deverman from the Broad Institute, a research unit, in conjunctio­n with the University of British Columbia, stated that scientists are clear in their conclusion­s that the virus originated outside the Wuhan market.

The study further said: stated, “The publicly available genetic data do not point to cross-species transmissi­on of the virus at the market.”

World Health Organizati­on (WHO) spokespers­on, Fadela Chaib, further stated that all available evidence suggests the virus has an animal origin and is not manipulate­d or constructe­d in a lab or anywhere else, also stating: “It most likely has its ecological reservoir in bats, but how the virus came from bats to humans is still to be seen and discovered.”

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Donald Trump

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