The US investigators researching the origins of Covid virus on Saturday said that the scientists at the Wuhan lab were working with Chinese military to create a new mutant virus just before the pandemic started, reported Sunday Times.
The Chinese military wanted to develop a vaccine for the viruses so they could be used as potential bioweapon on other countries, the report added citing US investigators.
The US investigators analysed the classified intercepted communications and research documents following the relaxation of lockdown measures worldwide. The investigators were granted privileged access to confidential intelligence concerning the events preceding the emergence of Covid-19 in China by the US Intelligence agencies.
The investigators asserted that no public information exists about these activities due to their collaboration with the Chinese military, which provided funding for the projects.
Evidence suggested that individuals involved in these experiments were admitted to hospitals with symptoms resembling those of Covid-19 in November 2019, a month before the world became aware of the global pandemic, the report added.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology, known for its research on the origins of SARS viruses since 2003, received funding from the US government through a New York-based charity and demonstrated advanced techniques for manipulating viruses.
It has been reported that the institute conducted potentially hazardous experiments involving coronaviruses collected from bat caves. Initially, the institute made these findings publicly available and justified them by stating that they could contribute to vaccine development.
Fast forward to 2016, a previously unidentified and highly lethal strain of coronavirus was discovered in a mineshaft located in Mojiang, Yunnan province where people had died from symptoms similar to SARS.
However, the China did not report about those deaths, neither it warned. Later, the virus was transferred to the Wuhan lab, where the research on that virus became classified.
“The trail of papers starts to go dark. That’s exactly when the classified programme kicked off,” one of the investigators told the Sunday Times.
Virus found in Mojiang is the only known immediate relative of Covid-19, that existed prior to the pandemic. The American investigators also said that the classified programme was to make the Mojiang viruses more infectious and deadly to humans
“My view is that the reason it was covered up was due to military secrecy related to the army’s pursuit of dual-use capabilities in virological biological weapons and vaccines,” the investigator added.
Another investigator said, “It has become increasingly clear that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was involved in the creation, promotion and cover-up of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
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