U.S. suspends funding to Wuhan Institute of Virology for obstruction in Covid research
Upon review, the United States found that the Chinese facility was not in compliance with federal regulations.
People lining up outside of a drug store to buy masks during the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China. Photo: Chinanews.com / China News Service. CC BY 3.0.
The White House has suspended access to funds from the Wuhan Institute of Virology because of its failure to provide documents necessary to investigate the origin of the Covid-19 virus, according to a document obtained by Bloomberg.
Wuhan Lab Had Three Live Bat Coronaviruses: Chinese State Media
According to the text, the Department of Health and Human Services notified the entity of the suspension on Monday, informing it of its intention to disqualify it completely.
Following a review initiated in September, the center, a Chinese agency located in Wuhan, was found to be out of compliance with federal regulations, according to the news agency.
US Suspends Wuhan Institute Funds Over Covid Stonewalling
Lab accused of failing to provide safety, security documents
US has been pressuring China for transparency on Covid-19https://t.co/spJPrID6eT
— Kanika Kotwal (@KanikaKotwal4) July 19, 2023
This move by the United States is intended to put pressure on China to share more information on the origin of the pandemic. The U.S. side has reiterated on numerous occasions that it is “likely” that the virus originated in a Chinese laboratory, although for the moment there is “no evidence” that the intentions of the Chinese authorities were to use it as a biological weapon.
China has urged the United States to “stop politicizing” the origin of the pandemic, after FBI Director Christopher Wray and the US Department of Energy pointed to the possibility of an accident in a laboratory in the city of Wuhan, considered to be the ‘ground zero’ of SARS-CoV-2.
A U.S. Department of Energy study determined, albeit “with low confidence,” that the pandemic originated after an accident at a Chinese laboratory in the city, although some U.S. agencies attribute the spread of the virus to a natural contagion, while others are undecided.
-Thailand News (TN)
