China must come clean on virus origin

With a growing number of scientific studies indicating that SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for the pandemic that has ravaged the world, emerged from a Wuhan laboratory, the need for an independent and comprehensive probe into the origin of the virus has become imperative. The claim that the virus may have leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), whether intentionally or not, has gained traction in recent weeks. US President Joe Biden has ordered American intelligence agencies to “redouble” their efforts to find out the origin of Covid-19. As DH reported recently, the first red flag about the possible lab-origin of the virus was raised in early 2020 itself by Indian biologists at IIT-Delhi who studied its protein structure. Recent studies have claimed to have found new evidence of it. A study by British professor Angus Dalgleish and Norwegian scientist Birger Sorensen, for instance, states that the SARS-CoV-2 does not have a “credible natural ancestor”, as Covid-19 samples reveal “unique fingerprints” that could have only arisen from manipulation in a lab. Their study claims that the Wuhan scientists tried to cover their tracks by retro-engineering versions of the virus to make it appear that it had evolved naturally from bats.

Earlier this year, a team comprising WHO and Chinese scientists probed the pandemic’s origin. The team visited the Wuhan lab but did not seem to take the lab-leak theory seriously enough; the report paid only fleeting attention to examining this issue. It said that the coronavirus had emerged in bats and dismissed the lab-leak theory as “extremely unlikely.” In the light of several scientific studies, as well as the ongoing detective work of the disparate online group calling itself DRASTIC, pointing to the Wuhan lab as the origin of the virus, another probe must be done. Millions have lost their lives to Covid-19 and millions more will perish, and economies and the future of entire nations will continue to be threatened if we do not get a grip on the virus’ origin and nature.

China likes to project itself as a responsible power. It could convince the world of this if it were transparent on the origin of the virus and its own decision-making from the time it knew of the spreading infection. For a start, it should share the case reports of the Wuhan lab employees who fell ill long before China publicly reported the first Covid-19 case. Beijing will do well to cooperate with the international community’s investigations and come clean on the whole affair. If the lab-leak theory were found to be correct without China’s cooperation, Beijing is liable to face serious consequences.