Coronavirus conspiracy theories: US and Chinese politicians rush in where experts fear to tread
- A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman who promoted online theories about the origins of Covid-19 is the latest high-profile figure to make unverified claims
- Beijing angered by US politicians who have characterised it as a ‘Chinese virus’ and Senator Tom Cotton’s suggestion it came from a lab in Wuhan
While the world’s leading scientists do not know for sure the origin of the coronavirus behind the Covid-19 pandemic, some Chinese officials and US politicians appear to know better.
Medical experts around the world have been trying for months to confirm the origin of the virus that has infected nearly 130,000 people and claimed more than 5,000 lives.
But scientists have yet to track down “patient zero” of the outbreak or confirm conclusively that the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan, linked to 27 of the 41 first reported cases, was the source of the virus.
A study published by the Hubei Centres for Disease Prevention and Control this week analysing its genomic sequences said the market may have promoted its spread, but the researchers could not determine whether it had originated from there or what intermediate hosts may have transmitted the virus to humans.
But while this remains an open question for scientists, that has not stopped politicians from weighing in with unverified theories.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian became the latest to promote a conspiracy with a series of tweets late on Thursday and early Friday suggesting that the virus may have been spread by the United States military.