Anthony Blinken
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has called for transparency in China to clarify the origin of the coronavirus. His words are conveyed by Axios.
The diplomat said that the American side intends to “get to the bottom” in establishing the circumstances of the spread of COVID-19 in order to prevent future epidemics and mitigate the consequences of the current epidemiological situation in the world. “This is largely in the interests of China as well, because it also suffered from this pandemic,” he stressed.
Blinken noted that the Chinese authorities have not shown any initiative in cooperation on the investigation of the origin of the coronavirus. The secretary of state concluded that in order to maintain its position as a “responsible international player”, Beijing must provide the international community with full information about COVID-19.
On June 4, Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergic and Infectious Diseases, called on China to explain the outbreak of a mysterious disease in a Wuhan lab in 2019. It was noted that three employees of the institute fell ill, and their symptoms were similar to the coronavirus.
On May 20, the United States said there was “strong circumstantial evidence” that the first outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus occurred as a result of a leak from a Chinese research laboratory. In turn, the Chinese authorities point to the possibility of a coronavirus leak from the American military laboratory Fort Detrick. Beijing even asked the World Health Organization (WHO) to conduct an international investigation.
