Chinese virologist at centre of ‘coronavirus came from a laboratory’ claim denies defecting
- ‘No matter how difficult things are, there will not be a ‘defector’ situation,’ Shi Zhengli says on WeChat
- Dismissal comes amid online rumours she and her family were seeking refuge at US embassy in Paris
Shi Zhengli, a renowned researcher of bat coronaviruses, wrote on WeChat on Saturday that she and her family had not fled the country, despite coming under heavy scrutiny amid concerns that the virus responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic had originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in central China where she works.
Chinese state newspaper Global Times said it had confirmed the post had been written by Shi.
“No matter how difficult things are, there will not be a ‘defector’ situation as the rumours have said,” Shi wrote.
“We have not done anything wrong and we continue to have strong faith in science. There must be a day when the clouds part and the sun comes out.”
Rumours circulated online claimed Shi and her family had smuggled hundreds of confidential documents out of the country and were seeking refuge at the United States embassy in Paris.