China has been under a lot of pressure from other countries and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to come clean about COVID-19. The massive hunt for ‘Patient Su’, the first person to contract coronavirus has begun. Here’s what you need to know.
Who is Patient Su?
The potential lab leak of COVID-19 is supposedly behind the infection of a 61-year-old Chinese woman in Wuhan. According to the sources, the 61-year old contracted a virus and became sick out of the blue in November 2019.
A Chinese medical journal showed that “Patient Su” lived around three miles from Wuhan Institute of Virology(WIV). She got infected with COVID-19 in November and was taken to the nearby Rongjun Hospital in Wuhan for treatment.
The woman’s close proximity to both WIV and another security lab run by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control nearby gives credence to the theory that coronavirus has emerged due to a lab leak.
Leading Chinese officials disclosed the details of the patient accidentally. This lead to speculation that she was the first COVID patient. However, the Chinese government stated that December 8 was the earliest onset of the disease.
“We were able to pinpoint the exact name, age, and address of a very early suspected case nearly one month before the official first case,” said Gilles Demaneuf, a data scientist and member of an online sleuth group. “That address is right next to the subway line No 2 and also not far from a People’s Liberation Army hospital that treated some of the other earliest cases,” he added.
Wuhan Institute of Virology is under the radar
Other pieces of evidence also say that the lethal virus and developed in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The lab is under the radar for the intentional release of the virus. Furthermore, WIV is the home to one of the most extensive virology centers in the world. Several studies claim that the virus is man-made and has no close natural ancestors.
British spies claim the theory to be true. US President Joe Biden has already ordered a “redoubled” investigation in the matter.