Chinese Lab Mapped Corona Two Weeks Before Beijing Told The World
Mint Mumbai|January 18, 2024
The sequence that Ren provided in Dec 2019 was never published and was deleted on 16 Jan 2020
Warren P. Strobel, Michael R. Gordon
Chinese Lab Mapped Corona Two Weeks Before Beijing Told The World

Chinese researchers isolated and mapped the virus that causes COVID-19 in late December 2019, at least two weeks before Beijing revealed details of the deadly virus to the world, congressional investigators said, raising questions anew about what China knew in the pandemic’s crucial early days.

Documents obtained from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by a House committee and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show that a Chinese researcher in Beijing uploaded a nearly complete sequence of the virus’s structure to a U.S. government-run database on Dec. 28, 2019. Chinese officials at that time were still publicly describing the disease outbreak in Wuhan, China, as a viral pneumonia "of unknown cause" and had yet to close the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, site of one of the initial Covid-19 outbreaks.

China only shared the virus's sequence with the World Health Organization on Jan. II, 2020, according to U.S. government timelines of the pandemic.

The new information doesn't shed light on the debate over whether Covid emerged from an infected animal or a lab-leak, but it suggests that the world still doesn't have a full accounting of the pandemic's origin.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM MINT MUMBAIView all
World Bank calls for reforming skills training in India
Mint Mumbai

World Bank calls for reforming skills training in India

India must make a coordinated effort to reform and rebrand vocational skill training, besides aligning education with the job market, to leverage its demographic advantage to meet the $5-trillion target for its economy, the World Bank said.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 23, 2024
Mint Mumbai

FCPA cases take long to conclude after indictment

For investors keen to know the fate of billionaire Gautam Adani's indictment by US authorities, the watchword is patience.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 23, 2024
Short-covering, relief rally add ₹7.27 trillion wealth
Mint Mumbai

Short-covering, relief rally add ₹7.27 trillion wealth

Markets up 2.39% to hit the highest in six months, a day after Adani's indictment

time-read
2 mins  |
November 23, 2024
Wetter monsoon slows pace of adding new transmission lines
Mint Mumbai

Wetter monsoon slows pace of adding new transmission lines

India's addition of new power transmission lines fell by half over a year earlier in the April-October period as a wetter-than-usual monsoon slowed work.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 23, 2024
COP29's $1.3 tn fund plan disappoints Global South
Mint Mumbai

COP29's $1.3 tn fund plan disappoints Global South

The 29th edition of the UN climate change conference in Azerbaijan emerged from a deadlock with an annual climate finance goal of $1.3 trillion for developing countries, much to the disappointment of the Global South.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 23, 2024
Jaguar rebrand is pink, diverse and doesn't feature any cars
Mint Mumbai

Jaguar rebrand is pink, diverse and doesn't feature any cars

Luxury automaker Jaguar is betting that a colorful and youthful rebrand will help it successfully launch fully into the electric-cars market.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 23, 2024
Mint Mumbai

Services up as manufacturing slows in Nov

The HSBC Flash India Services PMI was at 59.2 in Nov from 58.5 in Oct; manufacturing PMI fell slightly from 60.4 to 60.2

time-read
1 min  |
November 23, 2024
MSMED may protect medium firms too
Mint Mumbai

MSMED may protect medium firms too

The Centre may consider including medium enterprises for the protection granted under MSME Development (MSMED) Act, 2006, to resolve payment disputes.

time-read
1 min  |
November 23, 2024
Europe boosts Indian textile exports in FY25
Mint Mumbai

Europe boosts Indian textile exports in FY25

Demand for Indian handloom, apparel partly fuelled by Bangladesh crisis

time-read
2 mins  |
November 23, 2024
Mint Mumbai

RBI nudges banks to cut speculative bet in rupee

The Indian central bank, in a rare move, instructed some banks to cut their long positions on the dollar-rupee pair on Friday, seeking to curb speculative positions with the currency at a record low, four bankers familiar with the development told Reuters.

time-read
1 min  |
November 23, 2024