Tengrinews.kz - After a two-year investigation, US congressmen have concluded that the coronavirus most likely originated in a laboratory and was spread due to a leak. This is stated in a report by the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
"The COVID-19 virus most likely originated from a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan," the document notes.
Lawmakers cite five reasons for this theory. They claim that the virus has biological features that are not found in nature. In addition, all cases of coronavirus infection allegedly began in one person, while in past pandemics there were different outbreaks.
The report also mentions a lab in Wuhan that specializes in studying SARS viruses. Congressmen claim that it conducted research under "insufficient levels of biosafety."
"The U.S. government has reason to believe that several researchers inside the WIV became sick in the fall of 2019, before the first identified case of the outbreak, with symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illness," the report says.
In addition, congressmen calculated the damage from fraud during the coronavirus pandemic. According to them, more than $250 billion in government aid was stolen.
"Fraudsters cost the American taxpayer more than $191 billion dollars by taking advantage of the federal government’s unemployment system and exploiting individuals’ personally identifiable information," the report notes.
At least another $64 billion, according to the authors of the document, was stolen through the "paycheck protection program." This program provided for government loans that were forgiven on the condition that they were used to overcome difficulties due to the pandemic.
In September, a group of scientists from the United States, Britain, France and other countries was able to prove that the outbreak of the coronavirus was a seafood market in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
China rejects the possibility of a laboratory origin of the coronavirus.
COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a new type of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which was first identified in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The disease quickly spread throughout the world, causing a global pandemic declared by the WHO on March 11, 2020.
