At least three researchers working at the Wuhan Institute of Virology lab sought hospital care in November 2019. That is about the time most experts believe COVID began to spread throughout the city.
This revelation, published just before World Health Organization decision-makers meet to discuss their next steps, comes from a previously undisclosed State Department fact sheet issued in January 2020. US intelligence agencies vetted the fact sheet. The sources behind the sheet have been described as “of exquisite quality.”
According to the document, the Wuhan lab researchers experienced “symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illness.”
While it is not uncommon for Chinese residents to go straight to a hospital when feeling sick, “it could be significant if members of the same team working with coronaviruses went to hospital with similar symptoms shortly before the pandemic was first identified,” reports The Wall Street Journal.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology, located at the origin point of the disease, is a biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) lab that specializes in coronavirus research. BSL-4 is the highest designation of biosafety precautions. It requires researchers to wear positive pressure suits and pass through decontamination showers.
“I’m very doubtful that three people in highly protected circumstances in a level three laboratory working on coronaviruses would all get sick with influenza,” says David Asher, a former State Department Official.
The Wuhan lab denies all allegations but has refused to provide raw data and safety logs to investigators. Even infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has started to question the origin of the virus. “I think we should continue to investigate what went on in China until we continue to find out to the best of our ability what happened,” he said.
As noted in a previous article, former CDC Director Robert Redfield is convinced COVID escaped from a lab.
“The most likely etiology of this pathology in Wuhan was from a laboratory – you know, escaped,” he said in March. “Other people don’t believe that. That’s fine. Science will eventually figure it out.”
Source:
Intelligence on Sick Staff at Wuhan Lab Fuels Debate on COVID-19 Origin