Page 37 - April-May 2020 Neat

Murky Mystery of COVID-19’s Origin 37

Murky mystery of

COVID-19's origins takes

back seat in Canada to

easing crisis

by CTV News

WASHINGTON -- Canada is keeping a safe
distance -- for now -- from the theory that the
COVID-19 outbreak began by accident in a
virology laboratory in China -- a narrative that's
gaining traction by the day, thanks to the White
House, American intelligence agencies and
media outlets friendly to President Donald
Trump.

It will be important to one day learn the true
origin story of the global pandemic to defend
against similar outbreaks in the future, Health
Minister Patty Hajdu acknowledged Monday.

But for now, she said, the federal government is this began," Pompeo said in an interview on preliminary research has pointed to snakes as
focused the health and safety of its citizens. ABC's politics show "This Week." "While the well as pangolins, scaly, nocturnal creatures that
intelligence community continues to do its live in Asia and Africa.
"There will be time and a lot of interest and work, they should continue to do that and verify
importance (in understanding) how this virus so that we are certain. I can tell you that there is "The natural history, the evolution of the virus
became prevalent in the human species," Hajdu a significant amount of evidence that this came may be found in the upcoming months, but
told a news conference. from that laboratory in Wuhan." sometimes you may actually not find that until
many months later."
"Although those questions are important, All of that followed a remarkable statement last
because they will help us prevent future week from the Office of the Director of A Fox News report Sunday, citing anonymous
outbreaks and understand what we can learn National Intelligence, which said U.S. agencies senior U.S. officials, pointed to a research
from this particular virus, what's even more were actively investigating "whether the dossier by the Five Eyes intelligence alliance --
important right now is to stay focused on outbreak began through contact with infected the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia and New
Canadians' health and helping Canadians get animals or if it was the result of an accident at a Zealand -- that accuses China of hiding or
through the outbreak that we're in now." laboratory in Wuhan." destroying evidence, and suggests a strong
majority of U.S. agencies believe the virus came
The theory -- that the virus came from a Level It added, importantly: the U.S. agrees with the from a lab.
4 microbiology facility at the Wuhan Institute of "wide scientific consensus" that the virus is
Virology, in the same city where the outbreak neither man-made nor genetically modified. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, when asked
originated last December -- has been making the whether Canada had formed an opinion based on
rounds in blog posts, social-media missives and Still, the notion of the lab being the source of what it has learned through the Five Eyes,
conspiracy-theory Reddit threads for months, the pandemic -- a tempting one, given the lab's demurred.
long before COVID-19 became a household relative proximity to the so-called "wet
name. markets" for food and animals long presumed to "At this point," he said Sunday, "we are not
be ground zero -- dovetails nicely with Trump's drawing any firm conclusions." []
But Trump, beset by electoral anxiety and his blame-China narrative, which has been
hot-and-cold relationship with China, has given buttressed by credible reports that the country
it new life, aided by credulous media reports waited until it was too late to tell the world THANK YOU
and an intelligence community now willing to about the danger it faced.
give it credence, all at a time when clear TO ALL
answers about the worst global health crisis in a Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health
century are in maddeningly short supply. officer, said she's not seen any specific evidence FIRST RESPONDERS
to point to the lab as the culprit, but she AND
"We're going to be given a very strong report as acknowledged the world has more questions
to exactly what we think happened, and I think than answers at this point about outbreak's true ESSENTIAL
it'll be very conclusive," Trump said Sunday origins.
during a Fox News town hall from the Lincoln WORKERS
Memorial. "I don't think we've seen any specific FOR ALL
information to say this is a laboratory accident
"My opinion is they made a mistake. They tried or release, but at the same time we don't know YOU
to cover it. They tried to put it out. It's like a fire. the exact origins of this virus," Tam said.
You know, it's really like trying to put out a fire. DO
They couldn't put out the fire." Though the novel coronavirus is widely
believed to have originated with bats, a different DURING THE
Earlier in the day, Secretary of State Mike animal would likely have had to be involved as COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Pompeo was even more direct. an "intermediate host" to allow the virus to
jump to humans, she noted. The identity of a OF 2020
"There's enormous evidence that that's where likely host hasn't been confirmed, but