BEIJING, March 13: A Chinese official on Thursday alleged that the US army might have brought coronavirus to Wuhan, amid war of words between the two countries over the rapid spread of the deadly virus across the world.
China’s state-run Global Times on Thursday reported that US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield reportedly acknowledged some flu patients may have been misdiagnosed and actually had coronavirus.
“Even as the deadly virus continues to spread across the US, there are increasing signs of flaws and loopholes in the US government’s response, including efforts to conceal information about the epidemic, possible failure to differentiate the coronavirus from the common flu, and attempts to shift blame on others with racist rhetoric,” the report said.
Referring to Redfiled’s remarks, one of the foreign ministry spokesmen, Zhao Lijian, alleged that US army might have brought the COVID-19 to Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus outbreak in China. “CDC was caught on the spot. 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!” Zhao tweeted on Thursday with a video clip of the CDC director’s comments. He, however, did not elaborate his allegation against the US army. On March 5, Zhao told a media briefing that the origin of the virus is yet to be determined, raising question over reports that the virus had originated from a live animals market in Wuhan in December.-Agencies
