Beijing: A premier Chinese virology laboratory in Wuhan, which is in the eye of the storm for allegedly being the source of the novel coronavirus, has for the first time refuted the charge, including those of US President Donald Trump, that the deadly virus originated from his lab before it spread across the world and wreaked havoc.
President Trump on Saturday said his administration was looking into reports that the novel coronavirus "escaped" from a Wuhan laboratory before it spread to the world.
Ever since the virus came to light in Wuhan in December last year, speculation has been rife on whether the viral strain originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) or from its nearby Huanan Seafood Market. The WIV, specifically its P4 laboratory, is equipped to handle dangerous viruses.
Though the laboratory denied the rumours in a statement in February, its director Yuan Zhiming, in a first media interview, rejected the rumours that his institute is the original source of COVID-19. "We know what kind of research is going at the institute and how the institute manages viruses and samples. There is no way that virus came from us," he told the state-run CGTN TV channel.
