Coronavirus Update: COVID-19 Didn't Originate In Wuhan, But 'Market Boosted Spread'

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-AK, is one of the most visible proponents of the ugly conspiracy theory COVID-19 isn't a naturally occurring virus but is a Chinese biological warfare weapon gone awry.

"This virus did not originate in the Wuhan animal market," he asserts. Instead, he claims the coronavirus is a biowarfare weapon developed at the Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory, China’s only Level 4 microbiology lab equipped to handle deadly coronaviruses.

A new study by Chinese scientists debunks this Cotton theory and suggests the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) -- the virus responsible for COVID-19 -- didn't occur at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan. Instead, the disease was "imported from elsewhere" based on a genomic analysis of the coronavirus. The finding doesn't prove Cotton was right but is at odds with the official explanation of the disease's origin.

COVID-19 has killed 2,619 people worldwide and infected 79,360 others as of 2:33 p.m., Monday afternoon, Hong Kong time, according to the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE). China accounts for 2,495 of deaths and 77,150 confirmed cases.

“The crowded market then boosted SARS-CoV-2 circulation and spread it to the whole city in early December 2019,” said the new study by researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Institute for Brain Research (CIBR).

Led by Dr. Yu Wenbin, the research team sequenced the genomic data of 93 SARS-CoV-2 samples provided by 12 countries to definitively trace the source of the infection and understand how it spreads.

What researchers found was that while the virus had spread rapidly within the market, there were also two major population expansions on December 8 and January 6 outside the market. This finding suggests SARS-CoV-2 was introduced from outside the market.

The research said based on genomic data, it's possible SARS-CoV-2 began spreading from person-to-person in early December or even as early as late November.

“The study concerning whether Huanan market is the only birthplace of SARS-CoV-2 is of great significance for finding its source and determining the intermediate host, so as to control the epidemic and prevent it from spreading again,” said the study.

The study also noted that although China’s National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Level 2 emergency warning about the new coronavirus on January 6, the information was not widely shared.

“If the warning had attracted more attention, the number of cases both nationally and globally in mid-to-late January would have been reduced,” according to the study.

Another American conspiracy theory alleges some scientists working for the Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory sold lab animals infected with SARS-CoV-2 to the seafood market to make money. It also claims some Chinese researchers are in the habit of selling their lab animals to street vendors to make extra cash after they've finished experimenting on them.