by Andrew Kerr at The Daily Caller
The virus that causes COVID-19 entered the human population due to a leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) sometime before mid-September 2019, according to a new report from Republican members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“[W]e now believe it’s time to completely dismiss the wet market as the source of the outbreak,” the report, released Sunday, states. “We also believe the preponderance of the evidence proves the virus did leak from the WIV and that it did so sometime before September 12, 2019.”
The report also said there was “ample proof” showing that the virus could have been genetically manipulated prior to the outbreak.
Evidence cited as proof that the Wuhan lab is connected to the virus outbreak includes the sudden and unexplained removal of a virus database the evening of Sept. 12, 2019, athletes at the Military World Games in Wuhan in October 2019 contracting COVID-like symptoms upon returning to their home countries and the installation of a People’s Liberation Army bioweapons expert to lead the WIV’s Biosafety Level 4 lab as early as late 2019.
In addition, the report revealed that multiple Chinese medical officials had expressed concerns about safety protocols at the WIV before the outbreak in 2019. The WIV had also requested bids for renovation to its waste management system for the Wuhan National Biosafety Lab in March 2019, just two years after the lab had begun operations.
“Such a significant renovation so soon after the facility began operation appears unusual,” the report states. “The references to maintenance at the BSL-3 and animal center at the WNBL, the procurement of an environmental air disinfection system, and renovations to the hazardous waste treatment system and central air conditioning system all raise questions about how well these systems were functioning prior to the outbreak of COVID-19.”
Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the lead Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urged House Democrats in a statement accompanying the report to subpoena EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak, who collaborated closely with the WIV prior to the pandemic, to answer questions regarding his “inconsistent — and in some instances outright and knowingly accurate — statements” on the nature of his work in China…
Continue Reading