China Responds to Virus Investigation Demand by Demolishing 'Ground Zero,' Report Says
After a growing demand for an investigation into the origins of the novel coronavirus, China has reportedly demolished what they claim is ground zero for the deadly disease.
Months after being shuttered following an outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus, the Wuhan wet market was torn down Tuesday, journalist Jennifer Zeng reported.
Just learned it was demolished yesterday. 有人说确实是昨天在拆了。 https://t.co/pNCFk6A17g
— 曾錚 Jennifer Zeng (@jenniferatntd) March 4, 2020
China’s communist government claims the location was ground zero for the deadly outbreak now coursing around the world.
Meat from exotic animals is suspected to have been contaminated by the virus, which made the jump to humans in the unsanitary conditions of the market.
After infecting market patrons, the speed and ease of modern transit guaranteed the disease would soon begin popping up all over the planet.
Not everyone is buying China’s official story, however.
Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton has hinted at a “super laboratory” in Wuhan — a reference to the high-security biolab in the city — as a possible point of origin for the contagious disease.
According to Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Russia doesn’t seem to be buying China’s claims of a random outbreak.
“American officials have noted the existence of networks of thousands of social media accounts, many reportedly Kremlin-tied, with identical posts, publishing messages claiming that the virus is meant to ‘wage economic war on China’ and propagate ‘anti-China messages,'” Rubio wrote in a Tuesday Op-Ed for the New York Post.
Iran isn’t totally convinced of the official Chinese story either, instead claiming that the virus is the result of biological warfare.
Gholam Reza Jalali, the head of Iran’s Civil Defense Organization, told Fars News Agency that the virus’ effects and the panicked media coverage means it could be a “biological attack” meant to destabilize the economies of Iran and China.
Even the White House has requested an investigation into the origins of the killer virus.
Unfortunately, any investigation into where the deadly illness allegedly began will be massively hindered by the fact that the building is no longer standing.
For China, which has been the center of criticism over censorship and underreported virus numbers, the destruction of the Wuhan wet market is not an assuring sign.
As the virus looks more and more like it could become a seasonal illness, humanity may never be able to confirm exactly where it came from.
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