International
oi-Deepika S
Beijing, Jan 17: Scientists working at the Wuhan lab have admitted bitten by COVID-19 infected bats in a cave while collecting samples.
One researcher said one animal’s fangs went through his rubber gloves ‘like a needle’. These revelations will, first of all, raise the possibility that the scientists became infected with a coronavirus.
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.