BEIJING — BEIJING (AP) — China is pushing back at renewed suggestions the COVID-19 pandemic could have been the result of a lab leak, saying it has been “open and transparent” in the search for the virus’ origins. The U.S. Department of Energy has assessed with “low confidence” that the pandemic that was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019 began with the leak of a virus from a lab. The Foreign Ministry spokesperson in Beijing told reporters Tuesday that China has shared the most data and research results on virus tracing and made important contributions to global virus tracing research. She accused the U.S. of politicizing the issue, saying it won't smear China but will only damage U.S. credibility.
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Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2
This transmission electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, isolated from a patient in the U.S. Virus particles are shown emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. The spikes on the outer edge of the virus particles give coronaviruses their name, crown-like. Credit: NIAID-RML
Posted at 5:47 AM, Feb 28, 2023
and last updated 2023-02-28 13:32:09-05
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
