Hong Kong SCMP "China Delayed Sharing Virus Data in Early COVID-19"

"Reluctant to Share Despite Continuous Requests from US Galveston Institute"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Amid ongoing suspicions surrounding the origin of the novel coronavirus, claims have emerged that China's Wuhan Institute was uncooperative with the international community in sharing the virus during the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak.

On the 27th, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that American scientists were unable to quickly obtain the pathogen necessary for early COVID-19 research due to the bureaucratic nature of China's Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Wuhan, China, is the region where COVID-19 first emerged, and the United States has maintained that the virus originated there.

SCMP obtained emails between the Galveston National Laboratory under the University of Texas Medical Branch and the Wuhan Institute of Virology, revealing that the Galveston lab repeatedly requested the Chinese side to share the COVID-19 virus. However, the Chinese side was reluctant to share data, resulting in a loss of three weeks during the early outbreak.

The Galveston lab, known for researching deadly viruses, had various exchanges with the Wuhan Institute of Virology since 2013, but cooperation regarding COVID-19 was not smooth. When the Wuhan Institute delayed sharing the virus, the Galveston lab warned that it could face international criticism.

Ultimately, it was only on February 11 that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) delivered virus samples collected from American patients to the Galveston lab, allowing research to begin.

In response, SCMP cited American media reports stating that the Wuhan Institute was blocked by Chinese authorities from sharing virus samples, adding, "We do not believe China shared the virus in the early stages of COVID-19. There is no mention of sharing the virus with foreign countries in China's official announcements."

SCMP also noted regarding the World Health Organization (WHO) that "while it has stated that countries have helped share viruses for years, it has not mentioned whether China has complied."