Zhao Lijian Photo: VCG

The US should publish its data on early COVID-19 cases, invite the World Health Organization to probe Fort Detrick and the University of North Carolina, and publish data on sick soldiers who attended the Wuhan Military World Games, if it truly wants to be transparent on COVID-19 origins, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Friday. 

Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at Friday's media briefing that in order to shift responsibility from its failed COVID-19 response and achieve its political goal of smearing other countries, the US has politicized the pandemic, stigmatized the virus, and turned the COVID-19 origins tracing into a tool, and it has taken lying, discrediting and coercion as its means while showing no respect to science and justice. 

Origin-tracing. Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

The ugly page of the US behavior will surely be recorded in the annals of the global fight against COVID-19, Zhao said. 

"You cannot whitewash yourself by smearing others. If the US truly wants to be transparent and responsible, please start with the following four things," Zhao said.

Zhao said that the US should publish data on early COVID-19 cases. There were reports on the unexplained outbreaks of respiratory disease in northern Virginia in July 2019 and then EVALI outbreaks in Wisconsin. In September 2019, EVALI cases doubled in Maryland where the Fort Detrick lab is located. 

Second, the US should invite WHO to probe Fort Detrick and its over 200 overseas biological labs. The international society has long voiced their concerns on Fort Detrick's illegal, insecure and non-transparent practices. The lab which has long been engaged in research of coronavirus was shut down in 2019 due to serious security incidents shortly before a domestic outbreak of a disease sharing similar symptoms with COVID-19, Zhao said, noting that the US has never explained to the world or its own citizens. 

Third, the US should invite WHO experts to probe the University of North Carolina. The US has been smearing the Wuhan Institute of Virology, saying it created COVID-19 by conducting coronavirus studies. In fact, the US is the biggest funder and doer of coronavirus research, especially Ralph Baric's team at UNC, Zhao said.  

"With the investigation of Baric's team and their lab, it will be clear whether the coronavirus research will produce the novel coronavirus or not," Zhao said. 

Lastly, the US should publish data of sick soldiers who attended the 2019 Wuhan Military World Games, Zhao said. 

The US sent 300 personnel to Wuhan, have there been any of them found with symptoms similar as COVID-19? The US should make public of these cases, Zhao said. 

Global Times