COVID-19: Is China behind the outbreak of deadly Coronavirus?

BEIJING: As the world struggles to contain and minimise the catastrophic impact of the deadly Coronavirus on human lives and businesses nearly two months after it's outbreak was first reported in China, the topic continues to dominate headlines across the world. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), which on Wednesday declared Coronavirus as a ''pandemic'', the virus has so far claimed at least 4,600 lives globally and affected nearly 125,293 persons. The disease's rapid rise has been accompanied by an outbreak of false claims and several conspiracy theories on social media, allowing misinformation about the origin of the virus and myths on its possible cures.

One such theory suggests that China is to be blamed for the outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus. However, a Chinese government spokesman on Thursday said that "it might be the US Army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan," pushing one of several popular coronavirus conspiracy theories in China. 

Conspiracy Theories

Theory 1: Coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, originated in a level 4 (the highest biosafety level) research laboratory in Wuhan, China. Washington Times on January 24 said that the new coronavirus may have originated in a lab linked to China's "covert biological weapons programme", a theory later backed by Republican Senator Tom Cotton.

An article in Foreign Policy magazine on January 24 said Chinese President Xi Jinping's "political agenda may turn out to be a root cause of the epidemic" and that his multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative has "made it possible for a local disease to become a global menace".

Theory 2: The virus was engineered in the lab by humans as a bioweapon. The virus was being studied in the lab (after being isolated from animals) and then “escaped” or “leaked” because of poor safety protocol.

Theory 3: Suppressing early warnings of the outbreak. In an interview with the Chinese magazine, Renwu, or People, Ai Fen, director of the emergency at Wuhan Central hospital, said she was reprimanded after alerting her superiors and colleagues of a Sars-like virus seen in patients in December 2019.

Theory 4: Whistleblower doctor reprimanded for raising alarm. Li Wenliang was one of eight doctors reprimanded by police for posting online about a then-unknown disease that they had seen in hospital patients. Li noted that the symptoms were similar to those of SARS, which caused a deadly epidemic in 2003. He sent a WeChat message on December 30 to his classmates from medical school, informing them of what he had seen and warning them to be careful.

Li was visited by police and forced to sign “an official letter of criticism” for having “severely disturbed the social order” by making false postings online. The Wuhan police initially tried to make an example of Li and his fellow doctors, publicizing that eight people had been punished for “spreading rumours” about the disease. Evidence later revealed that local government had been desperately trying to cover up early warning signs about the new disease.

China’s Objection

China’s Foreign Ministry objected to the expression “Wuhan coronavirus” — saying the name will “stigmatize” the country — following remarks from the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo. Beijing leaders and the country’s state-controlled media, which have gone as far as to claim that the coronavirus outbreak may not have started in China at all.

Coronavirus Impact In India, World

India reported its first death due to coronavirus on Thursday as the number of positive cases soared to 74, with authorities taking emergency measures to contain its spread like shutting down schools, colleges and cinema halls in the national capital and some other places.

The Union Health Ministry confirmed that a 76-year-old man from Kalaburagi in Karnataka, who died on Tuesday, was infected with the coronavirus. Samples of the man, who had recently returned from Saudi Arabia, "has been confirmed for #COVID19", Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu said.
"The necessary contact tracing, isolation & other measures as per protocol are being carried out," he tweeted. 

Fourteen fresh cases have been reported from several states, including nine from Maharashtra, the Union health ministry said on Thursday. As the Centre and the states ramped up their efforts to tackle novel coronavirus, which has claimed at least 4,600 lives globally and affected nearly 125,293, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the countrymen not to panic and asserted that the government was fully vigilant.

A day after it suspended all visas, except a few categories such as diplomatic and employment, till April 15, the government also announced that three planes will be sent in the next three days to bring back Indians stranded in Iran, one of the worst coronavirus-hit countries.

Asking people not to panic, the Union Health Ministry said no community transmission of the virus has been observed and there have only been cases of local transmission so far.

With the novel coronavirus being declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation, Raman R Gangakhedkar, the head of the Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases-I, a division of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said even though the virus is difficult to isolate, scientists at the National Institute of Virology in Pune have been successful in finding about 11 isolates, but developing a vaccine will take at least one-and-a-half to two years.

The total number of 74 patients in India includes 16 Italians and one Canadian. The figure is inclusive of three patients from Kerala who were discharged last month following recovery. Giving a state-wise breakup, the ministry said Delhi reported six positive cases and Uttar Pradesh 10. Karnataka has four cases, Maharashtra 11 and Ladakh three. Rajasthan, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab have reported one case each. Kerala has recorded 17 cases, including three patients who were discharged last month.

Lav Aggarwal, the Joint Secretary in the Ministry, said 1,500 people who came in contact with these 74 infected people were under rigorous observation while over 30,000 people across the country were under community surveillance. Meanwhile, the Delhi government declared coronavirus an epidemic and said all those schools and colleges where exams are over should be shut down as also cinema halls till March 31.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting attended by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, LG Anil Baijal and top government officials. Uttarakhand and Manipur governments also announced the closure of schools till March 31.

On its part, the Defence Ministry has set up seven more quarantine facilities, especially for Indian citizens being brought to back from the coronavirus-hit countries, an official said. The facilities have been set up at Jaisalmer, Suratgadh, Jhansi, Jodhpur, Deolali, Kolkata and Chennai.

The Army is already operating a quarantine facility in Manesar while the one in Hindon, near Ghaziabad, is being operated by the air force. Asserting that the focus is on preventive approach, and adequate testing facilities have been made available, Aggarwal said India presently has around 1 lakh testing kits and more testing kits have been ordered.

About evacuation measures undertaken so far, Aggarwal said till now, India has evacuated 948 people from the coronavirus-affected countries. Of these, 900 were Indians and 48 belonged to different nationalities including from the Maldives, Myanmar, Bangladesh, China, the USA, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Nepal, South Africa and Peru, he said.

The government has stepped up vigil and following a strong contact tracing system to ensure anyone who has come in touch with the infected are not missed out, they said, adding till now, 11,14,025 people have been screened at 30 designated airports in India.

Asked whether high temperature kills the coronavirus, officials said there was no study or evidence till now to suggest that. As the contagious disease with flu-like symptoms spread across the globe, the cabinet secretary on Wednesday said states and Union Territories should invoke provisions of section 2 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, so that all advisories issued by the Union health ministry and state governments are enforceable.

India has suspended all visas, except for a few categories such as diplomatic and employment, till April 15 in a bid to contain the spread of the respiratory virus, according to a revised travel advisory. 

Visa-free travel facility granted to Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card-holders is also kept in abeyance till April 15, according to the advisory issued on Wednesday.
It said, any foreign national who intends to travel to India for compelling reason may contact the nearest Indian Mission and that all incoming travellers, including Indian nationals, arriving from or having visited China, Italy, Iran, Republic of Korea, France, Spain and Germany after February 15 will be quarantined for a minimum 14 days. 

(Reported By Saurabh Goenka)