Coronavirus developed at government lab in Wuhan, claims Chinese virologist Li-Meng Yan

New Delhi: Chinese virologist Dr Li-Meng Yan on Tuesday (September 22) claimed that coronavirus was developed in a government laboratory in Wuhan and alleged that the World Health Organization (WHO) is very much part of the cover-up. 

Dr Li-Meng Yan made these startling revelations in an exclusive interview with news channel WION's Executive Editor Palki Sharma. She also said that the Chinese government was aware of the spread of COVID-19. 

The Chinese virologist, who investigated the origin of the COVID-19 virus during the initial outbreak in Wuhan, said that she discovered a cover-up operation in Wuhan. The Chinese government knew about the spread of the deadly virus before publicly acknowledging it, she added.

According to Dr Li-Meng Yan, Wuhan's wet market is just a smokescreen from the Chinese Communist Party. She also claimed that the Chinese government is trying to tarnish her reputation through social media, conduct cyber-attacks on her and intimidate her family in China.

The Chinese virologist, who was a post-doctoral fellow in virology and immunology at Hong Kong School of Public Health, said that she was also muzzled by her supervisors.

#WuhanWhistleblowerOnWION | Chinese virologist Li-Meng Yan speaks to WION's @palkisu https://t.co/99KKjbJnBv — WION (@WIONews) September 22, 2020

Yan claims the Chinese government is now trying to tarnish her reputation through social media, conduct cyber-attacks on her and intimidate her family in China.

Earlier on September 14, Chinese virologist Dr Li-Meng Yan had claimed that COVID-19 was made in a Wuhan laboratory. Yan, who was associated with the Hong Kong School of Public Health, had been researching the coronavirus for a long time. The Chinese virologist claimed that during her research she came across that coronavirus was developed in a laboratory in China.

Dr Li-Meng Yan had also accused China of not taking proper precautions to contain the spread of coronavirus and offered scientific proof that COVID-19 is lab-made in Wuhan.

Her Twitter account was later suspended by the social media giant claiming the account violated the "Twitter rules". 

Dr Yan had also revealed that she had to flee to the US for her safety after being threatened by the Chinese officials when she wanted to alert the world about the pandemic. 

She claimed that she was in Wuhan to investigate the Pneumonia outbreak, but stumbled upon information about the deadly virus. The Chinese virologist is understood to have tried to alert the authorities but got no response from the World Health Organisation. 

Yan has already published her report and put it out on the internet for the world to access it. The report is titled "Unusual Features of the SARS-CoV-2 Genome Suggesting Sophisticated Laboratory Modification Rather Than Natural Evolution and Delineation of Its Probable Synthetic Route".