New Delhi: A team of investigators from World Health Organization visited a virus research laboratory in Wuhan, China the city where the Covid-19 virus likely spread from. The met on the most prominent virologist Dr Shi Zhengli who has been given the nickname "Bat Woman" as she has spent a long time researching bat coronaviruses.
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The lab has been at the center for many controversies as it was said the the novel coronavirus was developed in the lab and then spread. The investigators spent about three and a half hours in the lab which was heavily guarded. A team member Peter Daszak tweeted "Extremely important meeting today with staff at WIV including Dr Shi Zhengli. Frank, open discussion. Key questions asked & answered."
According to a Reuters report, most scientists, including Shi, reject the hypothesis that the virus leaked from the lab. Although there are some experts, who speculate that a virus captured from the wild could have escaped by an infected staff member after it was broought to the lab for experiments to test the risks of a human spillover. Meanwhile, Beijing has sought to cast doubt on the notion that it originated in China stating that it could be possible that the virus arrived to China from frozen food imports.
The report also said, that duuring the Wuhan visits the members of WHO would be limited to visits organised by the Chinese hosts and will have no contact with community members, citing health restrictions. The team will spend two weeks conducting field work after having completed two weeks in hotel quarantine when they arrived in Wuhan.