GLOBALIZATION »» CHINA »» COVID-19 ACCOUNTABILITY »» Mar 15, 2021

We first learned of the Coronavirus virus shortly after a cluster of severe pneumonia cases were reported in the city of Wuhan, China at the end of 2019. In a few weeks, person-to-person spread of the virus was reported worldwide. China claims COVID-19 originated at a crowded Wuhan wet market where customers buy fresh meat and fish, including live animals that are slaughtered when purchased. Crowded conditions can allow viruses from different animals to exchange genes and sometimes the virus mutates to the point it can infect and spread among people. Bats carry many coronaviruses and in the past 20 years several disease outbreaks have been linked to these bat-borne viruses. Presumably, this was the origin of COVOD-19, as bats are sold there. However, The Wuhan Institute of Virology - the first laboratory in China to receive the highest level of biosafety clearance