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Tale Or Truth? History has shown we will NEVER know!
On 24 November 2020, Military.com did report that US CDC revealed that there was two breaches at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, where the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases is located.
For now the focus is on containing this pandemic spread worldwide
Chinese Officials Blame US Army for Coronavirus
There is no evidence backing the idea that SARS-CoV-2 originated from US servicemembers visiting Wuhan.
Lisa Winter
Mar 13, 2020
Chinese Officials Blame US Army for Coronavirus
There is no evidence backing the idea that SARS-CoV-2 originated from US servicemembers visiting Wuhan.
Lisa Winter
Mar 13, 2020
THE SCIENTIST
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/chinese-officials-blame-us-army-for-coronavirus-67267
A Chinese official who has a history of attacking the United States online has lent a voice to a conspiracy theory that blames American soldiers for bringing COVID-19 to China, though the science does not support that narrative.
According to the unfounded accusation, which reports say has been widely shared on the popular Chinese social media platform Weibo, the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was introduced to China when 300 US military members arrived in the Wuhan region for the Military World Games in mid-October and infected the local population. None of the servicemembers who made the trip have tested positive for the virus.
The rumors seemed to begin when Chinese respiratory specialist Zhong Nanshan stated at a February press conference that “though the COVID-19 was first discovered in China, it does not mean that it originated from China,” planting the seeds of doubt.
On Thursday (March 12), Zhao Lijian, the spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, took to Twitter, a social platform banned in China, to ask, “When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!”
The text of the tweet was accompanied by a video of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield saying that some deaths assumed to have been caused by the flu were actually COVID-19, though the video does not reference specific cases or dates.
Lijian has also retweeted a link to a known conspiracy site that claims the virus may have originated at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Ft. Detrick in Maryland, which was shut down in August after biosafety lapses with a number of pathogens. The website goes on to speculate that the virus went from Ft. Detrick to e-cigarettes to Hawaii to Wuhan. There is no evidence the pathogens in Maryland ever left the lab and there’s an equal lack of evidence supporting any of the other claims.
An analysis of the virus’s genome indicates that the outbreak wasn’t caused by a strain from a lab and likely came from wild animals instead.
Despite the lack of evidence, the fact that a government official is making these claims seemingly unchecked could have larger consequences, says Victor Shih, an associate professor at the University of California, San Diego.
“If the [Chinese] leadership really believes in the culpability of the U.S. government,” Shih tells The New York Times, “it may behave in a way that dramatically worsens the bilateral relationship.”
The statements might simply be a distraction from criticisms about how China has handled the outbreak. Li Wenliang, a Chinese doctor who had tried to raise awareness about the virus in the early stages, was punished by the government and forced to say his concerns were an “illegal rumor.” Li contracted the virus himself while treating a patient in January and died on February 7. Critics claim that had these concerns been taken seriously at the time, it could have curbed the severity of the outbreak.
The unfounded claims could also be a response to US officials who have referred to SARS-CoV-2 as the “China virus” or “Wuhan virus,” according to the Times, terms that Lijian denounced as “highly irresponsible” at a March 4 press conference.
“The conspiracy theories are a new, low front in what they clearly perceive as a global competition over the narrative of this crisis,” Julian Gewirtz, an Academy Scholar at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, tells the Times.
Lisa Winter is the social media editor for The Scientist. Email her at lwinter@the-scientist.com or connect on Twitter @Lisa831.
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/chinese-officials-blame-us-army-for-coronavirus-67267
A Chinese official who has a history of attacking the United States online has lent a voice to a conspiracy theory that blames American soldiers for bringing COVID-19 to China, though the science does not support that narrative.
According to the unfounded accusation, which reports say has been widely shared on the popular Chinese social media platform Weibo, the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was introduced to China when 300 US military members arrived in the Wuhan region for the Military World Games in mid-October and infected the local population. None of the servicemembers who made the trip have tested positive for the virus.
The rumors seemed to begin when Chinese respiratory specialist Zhong Nanshan stated at a February press conference that “though the COVID-19 was first discovered in China, it does not mean that it originated from China,” planting the seeds of doubt.
On Thursday (March 12), Zhao Lijian, the spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, took to Twitter, a social platform banned in China, to ask, “When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!”
The text of the tweet was accompanied by a video of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield saying that some deaths assumed to have been caused by the flu were actually COVID-19, though the video does not reference specific cases or dates.
Lijian has also retweeted a link to a known conspiracy site that claims the virus may have originated at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Ft. Detrick in Maryland, which was shut down in August after biosafety lapses with a number of pathogens. The website goes on to speculate that the virus went from Ft. Detrick to e-cigarettes to Hawaii to Wuhan. There is no evidence the pathogens in Maryland ever left the lab and there’s an equal lack of evidence supporting any of the other claims.
An analysis of the virus’s genome indicates that the outbreak wasn’t caused by a strain from a lab and likely came from wild animals instead.
Despite the lack of evidence, the fact that a government official is making these claims seemingly unchecked could have larger consequences, says Victor Shih, an associate professor at the University of California, San Diego.
“If the [Chinese] leadership really believes in the culpability of the U.S. government,” Shih tells The New York Times, “it may behave in a way that dramatically worsens the bilateral relationship.”
The statements might simply be a distraction from criticisms about how China has handled the outbreak. Li Wenliang, a Chinese doctor who had tried to raise awareness about the virus in the early stages, was punished by the government and forced to say his concerns were an “illegal rumor.” Li contracted the virus himself while treating a patient in January and died on February 7. Critics claim that had these concerns been taken seriously at the time, it could have curbed the severity of the outbreak.
The unfounded claims could also be a response to US officials who have referred to SARS-CoV-2 as the “China virus” or “Wuhan virus,” according to the Times, terms that Lijian denounced as “highly irresponsible” at a March 4 press conference.
“The conspiracy theories are a new, low front in what they clearly perceive as a global competition over the narrative of this crisis,” Julian Gewirtz, an Academy Scholar at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, tells the Times.
Lisa Winter is the social media editor for The Scientist. Email her at lwinter@the-scientist.com or connect on Twitter @Lisa831.
China Spins Tale That the U.S. Army Started the Coronavirus Epidemic
NEW YORK TIMES
MARCH 13, 2020
After criticizing American officials for politicizing the pandemic, Chinese officials and news outlets have floated unfounded theories that the United States was the source of the virus.
The Pentagon sent 17 teams with more than 280 athletes and other staff members to the Military World Games in Wuhan, China, in October.Credit...Reuters
By Steven Lee Myers
March 13, 2020
BEIJING — China is pushing a new theory about the origins of the coronavirus: It is an American disease that might have been introduced by members of the United States Army who visited Wuhan in October.
There is not a shred of evidence to support that, but the notion received an official endorsement from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose spokesman accused American officials of not coming clean about what they know about the disease.
The intentional spreading of an unfounded conspiracy theory — which recirculated on China’s tightly controlled internet on Friday — punctuated a downward spiral in relations between the two countries that has been fueled by the basest instincts of officials on both sides.
The insinuation came in a series of posts on Twitter by Zhao Lijian, a ministry spokesman who has made good use of the platform, which is blocked in China, to push a newly aggressive, and hawkish, diplomatic strategy. It is most likely intended to deflect attention from China’s own missteps in the early weeks of the epidemic by sowing confusion or, at least, uncertainty at home and abroad.
Mr. Zhao’s posts appeared to be a retort to similarly unsubstantiated theories about the origins of the outbreak that have spread in the United States. Senior officials there have called the epidemic the “Wuhan virus,” and at least one senator hinted darkly that the epidemic began with the leak of a Chinese biological weapon.
“The conspiracy theories are a new, low front in what they clearly perceive as a global competition over the narrative of this crisis,” said Julian B. Gewirtz, a scholar at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard.
Image
Workers disinfecting a residential area as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus in Beijing on Friday.Credit...Roman Pilipey/EPA, via Shutterstock
“There are a few Chinese officials who appear to have gone to the Donald J. Trump School of Diplomacy,” added Mr. Gewirtz, who recently published a paper on China’s handling of the AIDS epidemic, after a similar disinformation campaign. “This small cadre of high-volume Chinese officials don’t seem to realize that peddling conspiracy theories is totally self-defeating for China, at a moment when it wants to be seen as a positive contributor around the world.”
The circulation of disinformation is not a new tactic for the Communist Party state. The United States, in particular, is often a foil of Chinese propaganda efforts. Last year, Beijing explicitly accused the American government of supporting public protests in Hong Kong in an effort to weaken the party’s rule.
The old tactic has been amplified by more combative public diplomacy and a new embrace of a social media platform that is blocked in China to spread a message abroad.
Victor Shih, an associate professor at the University of California at San Diego who studies Chinese politics, said that while the campaign was very likely an attempt to distract and deflect blame, a more worrisome possibility was that some officials fabricated the idea and persuaded top leaders to believe it.
“If the leadership really believes in the culpability of the U.S. government,” he warned, “it may behave in a way that dramatically worsens the bilateral relationship.”
China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has faced sharp criticism for the government’s initial handling of the outbreak, even at home. Public anger erupted in February when a doctor who was punished for warning his colleagues about the coronavirus died, prompting censors to redouble their efforts to stifle public criticism.
NEW YORK TIMES
MARCH 13, 2020
After criticizing American officials for politicizing the pandemic, Chinese officials and news outlets have floated unfounded theories that the United States was the source of the virus.
The Pentagon sent 17 teams with more than 280 athletes and other staff members to the Military World Games in Wuhan, China, in October.Credit...Reuters
By Steven Lee Myers
March 13, 2020
BEIJING — China is pushing a new theory about the origins of the coronavirus: It is an American disease that might have been introduced by members of the United States Army who visited Wuhan in October.
There is not a shred of evidence to support that, but the notion received an official endorsement from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose spokesman accused American officials of not coming clean about what they know about the disease.
The intentional spreading of an unfounded conspiracy theory — which recirculated on China’s tightly controlled internet on Friday — punctuated a downward spiral in relations between the two countries that has been fueled by the basest instincts of officials on both sides.
The insinuation came in a series of posts on Twitter by Zhao Lijian, a ministry spokesman who has made good use of the platform, which is blocked in China, to push a newly aggressive, and hawkish, diplomatic strategy. It is most likely intended to deflect attention from China’s own missteps in the early weeks of the epidemic by sowing confusion or, at least, uncertainty at home and abroad.
Mr. Zhao’s posts appeared to be a retort to similarly unsubstantiated theories about the origins of the outbreak that have spread in the United States. Senior officials there have called the epidemic the “Wuhan virus,” and at least one senator hinted darkly that the epidemic began with the leak of a Chinese biological weapon.
“The conspiracy theories are a new, low front in what they clearly perceive as a global competition over the narrative of this crisis,” said Julian B. Gewirtz, a scholar at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard.
Image
Workers disinfecting a residential area as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus in Beijing on Friday.Credit...Roman Pilipey/EPA, via Shutterstock“There are a few Chinese officials who appear to have gone to the Donald J. Trump School of Diplomacy,” added Mr. Gewirtz, who recently published a paper on China’s handling of the AIDS epidemic, after a similar disinformation campaign. “This small cadre of high-volume Chinese officials don’t seem to realize that peddling conspiracy theories is totally self-defeating for China, at a moment when it wants to be seen as a positive contributor around the world.”
The circulation of disinformation is not a new tactic for the Communist Party state. The United States, in particular, is often a foil of Chinese propaganda efforts. Last year, Beijing explicitly accused the American government of supporting public protests in Hong Kong in an effort to weaken the party’s rule.
The old tactic has been amplified by more combative public diplomacy and a new embrace of a social media platform that is blocked in China to spread a message abroad.
Victor Shih, an associate professor at the University of California at San Diego who studies Chinese politics, said that while the campaign was very likely an attempt to distract and deflect blame, a more worrisome possibility was that some officials fabricated the idea and persuaded top leaders to believe it.
“If the leadership really believes in the culpability of the U.S. government,” he warned, “it may behave in a way that dramatically worsens the bilateral relationship.”
China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has faced sharp criticism for the government’s initial handling of the outbreak, even at home. Public anger erupted in February when a doctor who was punished for warning his colleagues about the coronavirus died, prompting censors to redouble their efforts to stifle public criticism.
A vigil for Dr. Li Wenliang in Hong Kong last month. Dr. Li had warned his colleagues about coronavirus before dying.Credit...Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times
Chinese officials have repeatedly urged officials in other countries not to politicize what is a public health emergency. Conservatives in the United States, in particular, have latched on to loaded terms that have been criticized for stigmatizing the Chinese people. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo referred to the “Wuhan virus,” while Representative Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California, called it the “Chinese coronavirus.”
In response, Chinese officials and state news media have stepped up their criticism of American officials’ comments.
Only days before Mr. Zhao’s latest post, the Xinhua news agency published a commentary denouncing “Washington’s poisonous coronavirus politics” and warning that spreading rumors simply encouraged “fear, division and hate.”
“Their dangerously irresponsible statements are highly counterproductive at this drastic hour that demands solidarity and cooperation,” the commentary, written by Gao Wencheng, said, “and could be much more menacing than the virus itself.”
The coronavirus, according to all evidence, emanated from Wuhan, China, in late December. Scientists have not yet identified a “patient zero” or a precise source of the virus, though preliminary studies have linked it to a virus in bats that passed through another mammal before infecting humans.
A senior official of China’s National Health Commission, Liang Wannian, said at a briefing in Beijing last month that the likely carrier was a pangolin, an endangered species that is trafficked almost exclusively to China for its meat and for its scales, which are prized for use in traditional medicine.
The first cluster of patients was reported at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, and studies have since suggested that the virus could have been introduced there by someone already infected. Wuhan and the surrounding province of Hubei account for the overwhelming amount of cases and deaths, so there is no scientific reason to believe the virus began elsewhere.
Mr. Zhao’s assertion began with a post linking to a video of the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert R. Redfield, testifying before the House on Wednesday and suggesting that some flu deaths might have been caused by the coronavirus.
The Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan was disinfected and closed in January after it was linked to the coronavirus outbreak.Credit...Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
“When did patient zero begin in US?” Mr. Zhao wrote on Twitter, first in English and separately in Chinese. “How many people are infected. What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your date! US owe us an explanation.”
Mr. Zhao appeared to refer to the Military World Games, which were held in Wuhan in October. The Pentagon sent 17 teams with more than 280 athletes and other staff members to the event, well before any reported outbreaks. The Pentagon has had confirmed cases in South Korea and Italy and is bracing for more to emerge, but no illnesses have been tied to American service members from October.
Mr. Zhao’s remarks were spread on China’s most prominent social media platform, Weibo, under a hashtag: #ZhaoLijianPostedFiveTweetsinaRowQuestioningAmerica. By late afternoon on Friday, that hashtag had been viewed more than 160 million times, along with screenshots of the original Twitter posts.
The State Department summoned the Chinese ambassador on Friday to protest Mr. Zhao’s comments, officials in the Trump administration said.
At the regular briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday, another spokesman, Geng Shuang, sidestepped three questions about whether Mr. Zhao’s suggestion had politicized the crisis and reflected official Chinese policy.
He instead noted the statements made by American officials and lawmakers to “smear and attack” China.
“We are firmly opposed to this,” he said. “In fact, the international community, including the United States at home, have different views on the source of the virus. What I have been saying in recent days is that the Chinese side always believed that this is a scientific issue and requires scientific and professional opinions.”
Claire Fu contributed research.
ARTICLE ON 24TH NOVEMBER 2020l
CDC Inspection Findings Reveal More about Fort Detrick Research Suspension
PLEASE VISIT LINK
CDC Inspection Findings Reveal More about Fort Detrick Research Suspension
Two soldiers stand guard at the main gate of Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, where the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases is located. (Getty Images/Alex Wong)
24 Nov 2019
The Frederick News-Post, Md. | By Heather Mongilio
The Army's premier biological laboratory on Fort Detrick reported two breaches of containment earlier this year, leading to the Centers for Disease and Control halting its high-level research.
The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases announced Friday that it would restart its operations on a limited scale.
As it works to regain full operational status, more details about the events leading to the shutdown are emerging.
An inspection findings report, obtained by the News-Post through a Freedom of Information Act request, details some of the observations found during CDC inspections as well as by USAMRIID employees who reported the issues.
The two breaches reported by USAMRIID to the CDC demonstrated a failure of the Army laboratory to "implement and maintain containment procedures sufficient to contain select agents or toxins" that were made by operations in biosafety level 3 and 4 laboratories, according to the report. Biosafety level 3 and 4 are the highest levels of containment, requiring special protective equipment, air flow and standard operating procedures.
Due to redactions to protect against notification of the release of an agent under the Federal Select Agent Program, it is unclear the result of the two breaches.
Breach is a "loaded word," said Col. E. Darrin Cox, commander of USAMRIID. While there was a breach, there was no exposure, he said. No one was exposed to any of the agents or toxins.
Anytime USAMRIID determines there is a breakdown of requirements, employees have to do a report, Cox said.
When the breaches were reported, USAMRIID's commander at the time issued a cease and desist to all work being done at the laboratory so that personnel could do a safety pause. It was a voluntary stop, Cox, who was not commander then, said.
The CDC inspected USAMRIID in June, as part of standard regulations that include scheduled and unscheduled visits, according to previous News-Post reporting. The CDC sent a letter of concern on July 12, followed by a cease and desist letter July 15.
Shortly after, USAMRIID's registration with the Federal Select Agent Program, which regulates select agents and toxins, such as Ebola or the bacteria causing the plague, was suspended. At the time, USAMRIID was conducting work with Ebola and the agents known to cause Tularemia, the plague and Venezuelan equine encephalitis.
What Went Wrong
The CDC, in its inspection findings, noted six departures from the federal regulations for handling select agents and toxins. One of those departures was the two breaches.
Another departure was that the military laboratory systematically failed to implement biosafety and containment procedures. In one instance, personnel deliberately propped open the door to the autoclave room while the employee removed biohazard waste.
"This deviation increases the risk of contaminated air from room [redacted] escaping and being drawn into the autoclave room, where individuals do not wear respiratory protection," according to the report.
The report includes a large section redacted to protect against the release of a report or inspection of a specific registered person that would endanger public health or safety.
Propping the door open was an "incident," Cox said, not one of the breaches. It was noted by the CDC during one of its inspections.
The person who propped the door open did not have mal intent, he said.
"They weren't doing it to openly flout the rules," Cox said. "They were doing it for a reason that they thought was reasonable. But I mean, it still was not in compliance with [standard operating procedures]."
There were other incidents like the door propping that led the CDC to determine there was the systematic failure, he said.
To fix it, the CDC required that USAMRIID ensure personnel were being trained. While under the cease and desist, USAMRIID reviewed its training, validated it to make sure it was working, trained its staff and validated their training, Cox said. It will continue to monitor to make sure the training continues.
One of the concerns was USAMRIID's effluent waste decontamination system. The laboratory had moved to chemical treatment after its previous system was damaged, according to previous News-Post reporting.
It will be going back to a thermal decontamination system, Cox said.
The inspection findings also found that USAMRIID did not have a complete, accurate inventory of its select agents. That has been resolved, Cox said.
There were also cracks in the paint that were fixed, he said.
The CDC inspection also had multiple general concerns that were being addressed. All personnel concerns about not following protocol have been addressed, he said.
"Everything in [the CDC's] letter has been addressed," Cox said.
Restarting Operations
The Federal Select Agent Program registration has been partially lifted, and USAMRIID will be able to work on five studies dealing with select agents and regain its full operational status in the Laboratory Response Network.
The Laboratory Response Network is made up of three laboratories -- one operated by the Navy, USAMRIID and the CDC. The three are responsible for determining unknown material.
While operations were shut down at USAMRIID, the Army laboratory still did some work. But if it identified something that fell under the Federal Select Agent Program, it either stored the material in the freezer, as it was with the rest of the biological select agents or toxins it has, or sent it to one of the other laboratories, Cox said.
The Laboratory Response Network is set up in such a way that if one of the laboratories cannot operate, as USAMRIID could not, the other two can shoulder the work, said USAMRIID spokeswoman Caree Vander Linden. That happened with the CDC during the height of the 2016 Ebola outbreak, which meant USAMRIID took on more work.
While under the partial suspension, the CDC will approve the studies USAMRIID scientists wish to do, Cox said. USAMRIID leadership will have to send an outline of proposed research, including what agent it will involve, among other details. CDC personnel will then review the plan and interview the scientists to make sure they are trained and can do the research, he said.
There is no concern about intellectual property under the CDC approval model, he said. And he did not think it would affect grants. During the shut down, USAMRIID scientists were able to continue writing grants, among other duties, like consulting or education, he said.
During the shutdown, personnel understood the importance of taking a pause and evaluating the standard operating procedures. There was no major staff turnover as a result of the shutdown.
"They understand the importance of the mission," Cox said.
But the scientists will be happy to get back into the laboratory, he said.
Both Mayor Michael O'Connor and County Executive Jan Gardner were notified that USAMRIID would begin some of its operations in its biosafety level 3 and 4 laboratories.
"Obviously, that's good news for the installation and the research that they do there," O'Connor said.
He has every expectation that USAMRIID will do research to be done to CDC standards, O'Connor said.
Bob Hawley, who sits on the Containment Lab Community Advisory Committee, said that it is "wonderful" that USAMRIID will be able to start some of its work again.
He met with Cox and Brig. Gen. Talley, commander of Fort Detrick, who outlined the procedures that USAMRIID will follow.
Cox said he "delighted" that USAMRIID will get to start its work again. They will continue to work with the CDC until the full suspension is lifted.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/11/24/cdc-inspection-findings-reveal-more-about-fort-detrick-research-suspension.html
FURTHER POST :
“As posted by June Lee:
August 6, 2019, the US's main biological warfare lab at Fort Detrick was issued a "ceast and desist" order because of violation of safety standards and protocol, and leaks.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/virus-biological-us-army-weapons-fort-detrick-leak-ebola-anthrax-smallpox-ricin-a9042641.html
August - September 2019, "statewide outbreak" of a mysterious respiratory emerged in the US, causing severe respiratory diseases in a few hundred people. This was blamed on vaping although people had been vaping for more than a decade without such outbreaks. Officials were unable to find any relation to a specific vaping device and addictive.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/mysterious-vaping-lung-injuries-may-have-flown-under-regulatory-radar-n1046771
https://q13fox.com/2019/09/16/a-statewide-outbreak-two-new-cases-of-lung-disease-linked-to-vaping-in-washington/
https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/articles/2019-08-09/wisconsin-officials-12-cases-of-severe-lung-disease-after-vaping
August 2019 - Jan 2020, the US CDC reported that the US is gearing up for one of the worst flu seasons ever, with 12000 deaths. On 12 March 2020, the CDC director admitted that some COVID-19 deaths were misdiagnosed as the flu because COVID-19 were found when they did posthumous tests.
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/flu-season-2020-what-to-know
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_dU2RCqWs4
November 2019, the Chinese press reported that five athletes who had suffered from infectious disease had been discharged from hospital.
https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/mmbiz_png/cAB5zssIBQ0x144B7DJ7kB43ho1MKUbNrMYNics3XIDUZpwGYKNsN9AyAB6J282ml3BvPxrnAiaXTdQuvu5kEatQ/640?wx_fmt=png&tp=webp&wxfrom=5&wx_lazy=1&wx_co=1
https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/mmbiz_png/cAB5zssIBQ0x144B7DJ7kB43ho1MKUbNmicvyn5wozaksjicInYAGlcduHHwyHrJtzIEuZnRvmKB2T83pEibZVNcg/640?wx_fmt=png&tp=webp&wxfrom=5&wx_lazy=1&wx_co=1
November 2019, Wuhan locals were detected with COVID-19, with a spike of such terms in local social media. This coincided with the post-incubation period after the Military World Games.
https://www.businessinsider.sg/coronavirus-patients-zero-contracted-case-november-2020-3?r=US&IR=T
December 1, 2019, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was detected in Wuhan. Subsequently more than 80000 people will be infected. Of the first 41 cases, 34% were not related to the wildlife market.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30183-5/fulltext
Daniel Lucey, an infectious disease specialist at Georgetown University, claimed that because there is an incubation time between infection and symptoms surfacing, and the presence of infected people with no links to wildlife market, the virus could not have originated from the wildlife market. Kristian Andersen, an evolutionary biologist at the Scripps Research Institute, agreed with the assessment.
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/01/wuhan-seafood-market-may-not-be-source-novel-virus-spreading-globally
Genotype assay of COVID-19 revealed 5 variants/strains (group ABCDE) of the virus. Most regions in the world have 1-2 COVID-19 variants including Hubei (mainly group C), and UK (Group 😎. US is the only country with all 5 variants (Group ABCDE). In Virology 101, the region with the most variants is the origin of the disease.
https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/mmbiz_png/cAB5zssIBQ0x144B7DJ7kB43ho1MKUbN8unCYVZIE7wMduKBDFgfy2cmbTxn0yj32eRTf77WzjfKaqk52FAd4w/640?wx_fmt=png&tp=webp&wxfrom=5&wx_lazy=1&wx_co=1
https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/mmbiz_png/cAB5zssIBQ0x144B7DJ7kB43ho1MKUbNJxp8mz3Wep5HqRXqic4X2KxMoPI7FJfWsLib6EJpicJjTkicxqeKnrHkDw/640?wx_fmt=png&tp=webp&wxfrom=5&wx_lazy=1&wx_co=1
25 Jan, 2020, Japanese couple went for a 10 days vacation in Hawaii. On the second week they fell ill. On return to Japan they were tested and confirmed to have COVID-19.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/14/us/coronavirus-hawaii-japan.html
Italy lab confirmed that the strain of COVID-19 is different from the one circulating in China, and that the circulation of the virus is not so recent, and had been spreading undetected for weeks.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/28/coronavirus-may-have-been-in-italy-for-weeks-before-it-was-detected
China's coronavirus expert Dr Zhong Nanshan, the discoverer of SARS, said that although COVID-19 was detected in China, it doesn't necessary mean that it originated from China.
As of March 12, 2020, the US had only tested 10000 people, and COVID-19 was confirmed in 1600 of them. As a comparison South Korea tests 10000 people a day, but the disease rate trajectory is the same as the US. This suggests that there is a great number of infected people in the US, just that they were not tested.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/3/13/21178289/confirmed-coronavirus-cases-us-countries-italy-iran-singapore-hong-kong
Chinese officials have repeatedly urged officials in other countries not to politicize what is a public health emergency. Conservatives in the United States, in particular, have latched on to loaded terms that have been criticized for stigmatizing the Chinese people. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo referred to the “Wuhan virus,” while Representative Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California, called it the “Chinese coronavirus.”
In response, Chinese officials and state news media have stepped up their criticism of American officials’ comments.
Only days before Mr. Zhao’s latest post, the Xinhua news agency published a commentary denouncing “Washington’s poisonous coronavirus politics” and warning that spreading rumors simply encouraged “fear, division and hate.”
“Their dangerously irresponsible statements are highly counterproductive at this drastic hour that demands solidarity and cooperation,” the commentary, written by Gao Wencheng, said, “and could be much more menacing than the virus itself.”
The coronavirus, according to all evidence, emanated from Wuhan, China, in late December. Scientists have not yet identified a “patient zero” or a precise source of the virus, though preliminary studies have linked it to a virus in bats that passed through another mammal before infecting humans.
A senior official of China’s National Health Commission, Liang Wannian, said at a briefing in Beijing last month that the likely carrier was a pangolin, an endangered species that is trafficked almost exclusively to China for its meat and for its scales, which are prized for use in traditional medicine.
The first cluster of patients was reported at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, and studies have since suggested that the virus could have been introduced there by someone already infected. Wuhan and the surrounding province of Hubei account for the overwhelming amount of cases and deaths, so there is no scientific reason to believe the virus began elsewhere.
Mr. Zhao’s assertion began with a post linking to a video of the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert R. Redfield, testifying before the House on Wednesday and suggesting that some flu deaths might have been caused by the coronavirus.
The Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan was disinfected and closed in January after it was linked to the coronavirus outbreak.Credit...Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
“When did patient zero begin in US?” Mr. Zhao wrote on Twitter, first in English and separately in Chinese. “How many people are infected. What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your date! US owe us an explanation.”
Mr. Zhao appeared to refer to the Military World Games, which were held in Wuhan in October. The Pentagon sent 17 teams with more than 280 athletes and other staff members to the event, well before any reported outbreaks. The Pentagon has had confirmed cases in South Korea and Italy and is bracing for more to emerge, but no illnesses have been tied to American service members from October.
Mr. Zhao’s remarks were spread on China’s most prominent social media platform, Weibo, under a hashtag: #ZhaoLijianPostedFiveTweetsinaRowQuestioningAmerica. By late afternoon on Friday, that hashtag had been viewed more than 160 million times, along with screenshots of the original Twitter posts.
The State Department summoned the Chinese ambassador on Friday to protest Mr. Zhao’s comments, officials in the Trump administration said.
At the regular briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday, another spokesman, Geng Shuang, sidestepped three questions about whether Mr. Zhao’s suggestion had politicized the crisis and reflected official Chinese policy.
He instead noted the statements made by American officials and lawmakers to “smear and attack” China.
“We are firmly opposed to this,” he said. “In fact, the international community, including the United States at home, have different views on the source of the virus. What I have been saying in recent days is that the Chinese side always believed that this is a scientific issue and requires scientific and professional opinions.”
Claire Fu contributed research.
ARTICLE ON 24TH NOVEMBER 2020l
CDC Inspection Findings Reveal More about Fort Detrick Research Suspension
PLEASE VISIT LINK
CDC Inspection Findings Reveal More about Fort Detrick Research Suspension
Two soldiers stand guard at the main gate of Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, where the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases is located. (Getty Images/Alex Wong)24 Nov 2019
The Frederick News-Post, Md. | By Heather Mongilio
The Army's premier biological laboratory on Fort Detrick reported two breaches of containment earlier this year, leading to the Centers for Disease and Control halting its high-level research.
The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases announced Friday that it would restart its operations on a limited scale.
As it works to regain full operational status, more details about the events leading to the shutdown are emerging.
An inspection findings report, obtained by the News-Post through a Freedom of Information Act request, details some of the observations found during CDC inspections as well as by USAMRIID employees who reported the issues.
The two breaches reported by USAMRIID to the CDC demonstrated a failure of the Army laboratory to "implement and maintain containment procedures sufficient to contain select agents or toxins" that were made by operations in biosafety level 3 and 4 laboratories, according to the report. Biosafety level 3 and 4 are the highest levels of containment, requiring special protective equipment, air flow and standard operating procedures.
Due to redactions to protect against notification of the release of an agent under the Federal Select Agent Program, it is unclear the result of the two breaches.
Breach is a "loaded word," said Col. E. Darrin Cox, commander of USAMRIID. While there was a breach, there was no exposure, he said. No one was exposed to any of the agents or toxins.
Anytime USAMRIID determines there is a breakdown of requirements, employees have to do a report, Cox said.
When the breaches were reported, USAMRIID's commander at the time issued a cease and desist to all work being done at the laboratory so that personnel could do a safety pause. It was a voluntary stop, Cox, who was not commander then, said.
The CDC inspected USAMRIID in June, as part of standard regulations that include scheduled and unscheduled visits, according to previous News-Post reporting. The CDC sent a letter of concern on July 12, followed by a cease and desist letter July 15.
Shortly after, USAMRIID's registration with the Federal Select Agent Program, which regulates select agents and toxins, such as Ebola or the bacteria causing the plague, was suspended. At the time, USAMRIID was conducting work with Ebola and the agents known to cause Tularemia, the plague and Venezuelan equine encephalitis.
What Went Wrong
The CDC, in its inspection findings, noted six departures from the federal regulations for handling select agents and toxins. One of those departures was the two breaches.
Another departure was that the military laboratory systematically failed to implement biosafety and containment procedures. In one instance, personnel deliberately propped open the door to the autoclave room while the employee removed biohazard waste.
"This deviation increases the risk of contaminated air from room [redacted] escaping and being drawn into the autoclave room, where individuals do not wear respiratory protection," according to the report.
The report includes a large section redacted to protect against the release of a report or inspection of a specific registered person that would endanger public health or safety.
Propping the door open was an "incident," Cox said, not one of the breaches. It was noted by the CDC during one of its inspections.
The person who propped the door open did not have mal intent, he said.
"They weren't doing it to openly flout the rules," Cox said. "They were doing it for a reason that they thought was reasonable. But I mean, it still was not in compliance with [standard operating procedures]."
There were other incidents like the door propping that led the CDC to determine there was the systematic failure, he said.
To fix it, the CDC required that USAMRIID ensure personnel were being trained. While under the cease and desist, USAMRIID reviewed its training, validated it to make sure it was working, trained its staff and validated their training, Cox said. It will continue to monitor to make sure the training continues.
One of the concerns was USAMRIID's effluent waste decontamination system. The laboratory had moved to chemical treatment after its previous system was damaged, according to previous News-Post reporting.
It will be going back to a thermal decontamination system, Cox said.
The inspection findings also found that USAMRIID did not have a complete, accurate inventory of its select agents. That has been resolved, Cox said.
There were also cracks in the paint that were fixed, he said.
The CDC inspection also had multiple general concerns that were being addressed. All personnel concerns about not following protocol have been addressed, he said.
"Everything in [the CDC's] letter has been addressed," Cox said.
Restarting Operations
The Federal Select Agent Program registration has been partially lifted, and USAMRIID will be able to work on five studies dealing with select agents and regain its full operational status in the Laboratory Response Network.
The Laboratory Response Network is made up of three laboratories -- one operated by the Navy, USAMRIID and the CDC. The three are responsible for determining unknown material.
While operations were shut down at USAMRIID, the Army laboratory still did some work. But if it identified something that fell under the Federal Select Agent Program, it either stored the material in the freezer, as it was with the rest of the biological select agents or toxins it has, or sent it to one of the other laboratories, Cox said.
The Laboratory Response Network is set up in such a way that if one of the laboratories cannot operate, as USAMRIID could not, the other two can shoulder the work, said USAMRIID spokeswoman Caree Vander Linden. That happened with the CDC during the height of the 2016 Ebola outbreak, which meant USAMRIID took on more work.
While under the partial suspension, the CDC will approve the studies USAMRIID scientists wish to do, Cox said. USAMRIID leadership will have to send an outline of proposed research, including what agent it will involve, among other details. CDC personnel will then review the plan and interview the scientists to make sure they are trained and can do the research, he said.
There is no concern about intellectual property under the CDC approval model, he said. And he did not think it would affect grants. During the shut down, USAMRIID scientists were able to continue writing grants, among other duties, like consulting or education, he said.
During the shutdown, personnel understood the importance of taking a pause and evaluating the standard operating procedures. There was no major staff turnover as a result of the shutdown.
"They understand the importance of the mission," Cox said.
But the scientists will be happy to get back into the laboratory, he said.
Both Mayor Michael O'Connor and County Executive Jan Gardner were notified that USAMRIID would begin some of its operations in its biosafety level 3 and 4 laboratories.
"Obviously, that's good news for the installation and the research that they do there," O'Connor said.
He has every expectation that USAMRIID will do research to be done to CDC standards, O'Connor said.
Bob Hawley, who sits on the Containment Lab Community Advisory Committee, said that it is "wonderful" that USAMRIID will be able to start some of its work again.
He met with Cox and Brig. Gen. Talley, commander of Fort Detrick, who outlined the procedures that USAMRIID will follow.
Cox said he "delighted" that USAMRIID will get to start its work again. They will continue to work with the CDC until the full suspension is lifted.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/11/24/cdc-inspection-findings-reveal-more-about-fort-detrick-research-suspension.html
FURTHER POST :
“As posted by June Lee:
August 6, 2019, the US's main biological warfare lab at Fort Detrick was issued a "ceast and desist" order because of violation of safety standards and protocol, and leaks.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/virus-biological-us-army-weapons-fort-detrick-leak-ebola-anthrax-smallpox-ricin-a9042641.html
August - September 2019, "statewide outbreak" of a mysterious respiratory emerged in the US, causing severe respiratory diseases in a few hundred people. This was blamed on vaping although people had been vaping for more than a decade without such outbreaks. Officials were unable to find any relation to a specific vaping device and addictive.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/mysterious-vaping-lung-injuries-may-have-flown-under-regulatory-radar-n1046771
https://q13fox.com/2019/09/16/a-statewide-outbreak-two-new-cases-of-lung-disease-linked-to-vaping-in-washington/
https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/articles/2019-08-09/wisconsin-officials-12-cases-of-severe-lung-disease-after-vaping
August 2019 - Jan 2020, the US CDC reported that the US is gearing up for one of the worst flu seasons ever, with 12000 deaths. On 12 March 2020, the CDC director admitted that some COVID-19 deaths were misdiagnosed as the flu because COVID-19 were found when they did posthumous tests.
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/flu-season-2020-what-to-know
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_dU2RCqWs4
November 2019, the Chinese press reported that five athletes who had suffered from infectious disease had been discharged from hospital.
https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/mmbiz_png/cAB5zssIBQ0x144B7DJ7kB43ho1MKUbNrMYNics3XIDUZpwGYKNsN9AyAB6J282ml3BvPxrnAiaXTdQuvu5kEatQ/640?wx_fmt=png&tp=webp&wxfrom=5&wx_lazy=1&wx_co=1
https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/mmbiz_png/cAB5zssIBQ0x144B7DJ7kB43ho1MKUbNmicvyn5wozaksjicInYAGlcduHHwyHrJtzIEuZnRvmKB2T83pEibZVNcg/640?wx_fmt=png&tp=webp&wxfrom=5&wx_lazy=1&wx_co=1
November 2019, Wuhan locals were detected with COVID-19, with a spike of such terms in local social media. This coincided with the post-incubation period after the Military World Games.
https://www.businessinsider.sg/coronavirus-patients-zero-contracted-case-november-2020-3?r=US&IR=T
December 1, 2019, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was detected in Wuhan. Subsequently more than 80000 people will be infected. Of the first 41 cases, 34% were not related to the wildlife market.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30183-5/fulltext
Daniel Lucey, an infectious disease specialist at Georgetown University, claimed that because there is an incubation time between infection and symptoms surfacing, and the presence of infected people with no links to wildlife market, the virus could not have originated from the wildlife market. Kristian Andersen, an evolutionary biologist at the Scripps Research Institute, agreed with the assessment.
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/01/wuhan-seafood-market-may-not-be-source-novel-virus-spreading-globally
Genotype assay of COVID-19 revealed 5 variants/strains (group ABCDE) of the virus. Most regions in the world have 1-2 COVID-19 variants including Hubei (mainly group C), and UK (Group 😎. US is the only country with all 5 variants (Group ABCDE). In Virology 101, the region with the most variants is the origin of the disease.
https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/mmbiz_png/cAB5zssIBQ0x144B7DJ7kB43ho1MKUbN8unCYVZIE7wMduKBDFgfy2cmbTxn0yj32eRTf77WzjfKaqk52FAd4w/640?wx_fmt=png&tp=webp&wxfrom=5&wx_lazy=1&wx_co=1
https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/mmbiz_png/cAB5zssIBQ0x144B7DJ7kB43ho1MKUbNJxp8mz3Wep5HqRXqic4X2KxMoPI7FJfWsLib6EJpicJjTkicxqeKnrHkDw/640?wx_fmt=png&tp=webp&wxfrom=5&wx_lazy=1&wx_co=1
25 Jan, 2020, Japanese couple went for a 10 days vacation in Hawaii. On the second week they fell ill. On return to Japan they were tested and confirmed to have COVID-19.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/14/us/coronavirus-hawaii-japan.html
Italy lab confirmed that the strain of COVID-19 is different from the one circulating in China, and that the circulation of the virus is not so recent, and had been spreading undetected for weeks.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/28/coronavirus-may-have-been-in-italy-for-weeks-before-it-was-detected
China's coronavirus expert Dr Zhong Nanshan, the discoverer of SARS, said that although COVID-19 was detected in China, it doesn't necessary mean that it originated from China.
As of March 12, 2020, the US had only tested 10000 people, and COVID-19 was confirmed in 1600 of them. As a comparison South Korea tests 10000 people a day, but the disease rate trajectory is the same as the US. This suggests that there is a great number of infected people in the US, just that they were not tested.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/3/13/21178289/confirmed-coronavirus-cases-us-countries-italy-iran-singapore-hong-kong
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