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The Origins and Scientific Failings of the COVID-19 ‘Bioweapon’ Conspiracy Theory

By Peter Akpah

Image via Getty Images

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An increasingly resilient class of coronavirus rumors asserts that SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19, was created in a lab. Most iterations of the rumor claim the virus was accidentally released from a high-level infectious disease research lab in Wuhan, China — the purported origin of the outbreak — and some suggest the virus itself was designed there to be a “bioweapon.” This post addresses the origins of these rumors and exposes the falsehoods and scientific realities that undermine such claims.

Origins

When early reports of what would later become known as COVID-19 spread through the city of Wuhan in late 2019, a shared trait among many of the first patients was that they had been to the Huanan seafood market, a live animal market theorized to be the origin of the COVID-19 outbreak. Wuhan — a city of over 11 million — also has at least two infectious-disease research labs. One, the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, is apparently less than a mile from the Huanan market. The other, the State Key Laboratory of Virology (sometimes referred to as the Wuhan Institute of Virology), is a biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory certified to handle the world’s most deadly pathogens. This higher security lab is located about 7 miles from the Huanan market.

While the higher security lab in Wuhan has worked with coronaviruses, it does not appear that the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention — the one close to the market — had published any research on the topic prior to the pandemic. Both labs, however, have studied viral samples sourced from bats. Virology research work often involves bats, a proposed source of the novel coronavirus’ transfer from animal to human, because they harbor a uniquely large reservoir of viruses compared to other mammals. Research on coronaviruses is an important focus of China’s scientific efforts ever since the 2002 SARS epidemic, which was also caused by a coronavirus.

The proximity of these labs to the Huanan seafood market and these labs’ history with at least tangentially related infectious disease research are the only factual elements to the “created-in-a-lab” theory that are undisputed, rather than speculative or rooted in false scientific claims. For example, it is factual to state that the Chinese government hid, downplayed, and misrepresented to its citizens and the world the threat posed by the novel coronavirus. It is speculative, however, to assert, as U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton did, that these actions were done to cover up a leak from a lab.

Several evidentiary gaps exist between the observation of virology labs close or somewhat close to a market where early COVID-19 cases were identified and the conclusion that the Chinese government is covering up for the fact that they accidentally released an engineered viral agent from one of these labs. In conspiracy theory circles, these gaps have been filled with extremely flawed or bogus science, the incorrect interpretation of existing science, or both. Not only do these arguments — discussed in detail below — lack merit on their own, factual scientific studies concerning the origin of SARS-CoV-2 actually provide the strongest refutation to date of the claim the virus was “created in a lab.”

Did a ‘Scientific Study’ Conclude the Coronavirus Escaped from a Lab?

A February 2020 document erroneously described by several media outlets as a “scientific study” provides the supposedly science-based evidence of a virus escaping from a lab.

This paper, such as it is, merely highlights the close distance between the seafood market and the labs and falsely claimed to have identified instances in which viral agents had escaped from Wuhan biological laboratories in the past. With those two elements, half of them factual, the authors come to the sweeping conclusion that “somebody was entangled with the evolution of 2019-nCoV coronavirus,” and “the killer coronavirus probably originated from a laboratory in Wuhan.” While SARS viruses have escaped from a Beijing lab on at least four occasions, no such event has been documented in Wuhan.

The purported instances of pathogens leaking from Wuhan laboratories, according to this “study,” came from a Chinese news report (that we believe, based on the similarity of the research described and people involved, to be reproduced here) that profiled a Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention researcher named Tian Junhua. In 2012 and 2013, he captured and sampled nearly 10,000 bats in an effort to decode the evolutionary history of the hantavirus. In two instances, this researcher properly self-quarantined either after being bitten or urinated on by a potentially infected bat, he told reporters. These events, according to the 2013 study his research produced, occurred in the field and have nothing to do with either lab’s ability to contain infective agents. The paper also asserts without evidence that infectious waste was merely tossed out of the lab closer to the market as regular trash.

Okonjo-Iweala Advice Nigeria And African Countries To Seek For Debt Relief To Tackle Coronavirus

By Peter Akpah

Coronavirus: Okonjo-Iweala tells Nigeria, African countries next action to take

Former minister of finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has called on Nigeria and other African countries to immediately mount pressure on the G7 and G20 for debt-relief to tackle Coronavirus.

According to her, this will help African countries deal with the economic and health issues arising from Coronavirus.

Okonjo-Iweala suggested that the money owed by some African countries could be channeled towards dealing with the economic crisis arising from the outbreak of Coronavirus.

She told the BBC, “We have several sources, the African Development Bank, which is one of them that just floated a social bond for $3 billion to be available to African countries.

“Also, the World Bank has set aside $14 billion ,$2 billion has already beeen committed to 25 countries and 11 of them are Africans. Many of our countries need to move to take advantage of this, and they are willing to commit $150 billion dollars over the next 15 months.

“The IMF has put forward $50 billion as an emergency fund, and already 80 countries have applied for this, many of them African.

“It also has a $1 billion grant fund; catastrophe containment and relief trust, which they can approach. Let me mention my own organisation, GAVI, where I am chair of the board. We have immediately made available a $200 million to $300 million grant.

“Once these monies become available, if the countries get debt relief, that means that the monies they would have been paying to service the debt can now be used to obtain food and other necessary supplies to support people in the rural and urban area.

“This can be used by the government as part of an intervention fund to help people directly,but needs to be done quickly, the debt relief we haven’t got yet.

“The african countries need to put a lot of pressure on the G7, G20 to come forward with this measure, and then pressure for the debt relief.”

Mees Palace Adhere To Government Directives And Shut Down Cenima To Help Stop The Spread Of coronavirus into The State

By Peter Akpah

.COVID19PLATEAU;MEES PALACE SHUT DOWN CINEMA

Plateau lovers of mobies and entertainment are bored as Mees palace cinema’s are shut down because of Covid19.

The management of Mees palace has stopped work for it’s over 45 staff in compliance with the shutdown order of Plateau state Government on Covid19 business restriction and social distancing.

Mr Emmanuel Adukwu the CEO told our reporter while on inspection of facilities that are complying with Government orders said “We shut down the cinema,Shut down the academy and closed the children games arcade.

We have kept open just the kitchen providing food in take away packs for our numerous guests who still come in in trickles to take their food and snacks out.” He said.

Mees palace is also ensuring personal hygiene is observed as they also provide soap and running water as well as hand sanitizers to ensure the few client who come in stay safe.

Hon mafeng highlighted Some Critical Measures Taken By Riyom LGA Against The Spread of Covid-19 Into The State As Riyom is a Border Town

By Peter Akpah

Hon mafeng Gwallson the chairman Riyom LGA, held a brief of his local government activities and measures taken so far against the coronavirus covid-19, he said Riyom local government has 2 borders and right from forest he has been able to station health workers and some men and the security personnel to help to check every body coming in no mater who or your status, at a point in time when he went to monitor the task force a senator was passing and him and his driver and his security where sreened at the check point before he gain access to pass, and I checking if your temperature is higher than 37 then the will order for for you to be he advice you to go for Isolated or the hospital for proper screening.

Hon Gwallson said in other to curtail the in flow of people, the entry restrictions have helped in controlling the spread of the coronavirus to the state, and he thank his excellency Rt Hon Simon Bako Lalong for putting in place mechinaries for then to be able to achieve it, however, politicians, medical personnel , securities and fuel deliverymen with express permits still undergo border checks, Chairman of Riyom LGA Hon Mafeng Gwallson told Journalists/ Bloggers/online mediav, Saturday at old government house Rayfeild jos.

Hon Gwallson said, “Long before State and Federal restrictions, my staff have been at the border (Plateau entry point in Riyom LGA) 24/7 checking everybody coming in.

“The only people that sometimes if am not around they make exceptions to are the security personnel, which I have worn them never to take exception for the safety of the state and they seems to have comply with the order, But I can tell you that when I’m around, no matter who you are you must be tested. I’ve stopped Senators on that road, I’ve stopped House of Rep members and have asked all of them to get down with their drivers to get tested, he said them in Riyom LGA knowing that they are a border town have started taking necessary measures untill the total shutdown of the borders last Thursday, Gwallson said over 20,000 people coming to the State through Riyom LGA were screened daily. However, no coronavirus case was detected, he said.

Hon Gwallson also said that those people salling things around the road have been stop because they don’t know whether the person is infected or not so for safety purposes they have to stop them and all this things have to do with orientation which they have being doing down to the villages that is why in Riyom as a whole there is total complaints, and also there was a case of one lady that her husband works with one of the top politician in Lagos State came back home developing some systom they whole village alerted him and guarded the house to make sure she didn’t come out for her to be properly screened before the allow her to mingle with people he said this are the type or orientation he is talking about.

In his words, “Street cleaners interact daily with motorists. They (motorists) sometimes stop to ask them for directions, and they throw trash off the car window which the cleaners pick up.

“The next group is the security personnel. Once you come to Hawan Kibo (a hilly terrain at Riyom entry point), you must meet Road Safety Officials on the way and they interact with drivers all the time. If they pick the virus and go into the community, they might spread it.

“The last group is the street hawkers. Before the total shutdown of the borders, at all military checkpoints, there were always people selling drinks, snacks, vegetables and fruits. But with the lockdown, we have asked that those street hawkers vacate. The Federal Government policy allows those into food business to continue and we are not restricting them. Some of them didn’t foresee this lockdown especially those into farming and selling perishable goods. We have no choice than to allow them to sell but certainly not on the highway.”

Riyom is a typical rural community. However, the awareness of the villagers on the coronavirus disease is “impressive,” said Hon Gwalson.

The awareness however same from sustained village-to-village sensitization carried out by the Local Government on the disease, during the early days of the pandemic.

The sensitization is still on, but this time, with some sanitation facilities distributed to households to further guard them against the disease, Mafeng said the council has purchased some sanitizers, hand wash, buckets with tap head, to be distributed by the cansollors of the LGA to take to there various Locations ,

Hon Mafeng Gwallson promised to partner with the Bloggers for some of the activities of the local government and he will work with them.

Osun state government says only one covid-19 patient missing from Isolation center

By Peter Akpah

Osun Govt Reacts To Alleged 6 Missing Positive Coronavirus Patients

The Osun State government has debunked speculation that six patients who tested positive to the coronavirus have escaped from isolation centre.

A statement titled “The Truth about Ejigbo returnees – Osun Govt” and issued by Mrs. Funke Egbemode, the State Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, copy was obtained by AMILOADED noted that only a returnee out of the 127 of them could not be accounted for after a head count conducted by state officials on Saturday morning.

The statement reads in full: “Our attention has been drawn to a story purporting that six persons were missing from our Isolation centre in Ejigbo.

“One of the writers quoted a non-existent statement from the government to lend some measure of credibility to the story.

“Nothing can be further from the truth. As a government, we have not issued any statement to confirm or deny such story. Besides, a quick check showed that the name and number of the first person on the list of the purported missing patients, is indeed currently in our facility in Ejigbo.

“Recall that about a week ago, we received 127 returnees from Ivory Coast and we have kept them since then to avoid community transfer of the virus.

“This morning we embarked on a headcount and found out that only one person could not be accounted for by officials stationed at the Isolation centre out of the 127 persons.

“The State Government is currently investigating the matter and will ensure that the missing person is brought back to the Isolation centre and we will also ensure we trace all his contacts.

“We want to reiterate that any official(s) found culpable will also be dealt with accordingly.

We implore members of the public to discountenance the alarm being raised. We will continue to do everything to protect the lives of our citizens in this fight against Coronavirus.”

Northern governors salutes APC chairman Adams Oshiomhole @ 68

By Peter Akpah

NORTHERN GOVERNORS FELICITATE WITH APC CHAIRMAN OSHIOMHOLE AT 68

The Northern States Governor’s Forum has congratulated National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) Adams Oshiomhole on his 68th birthday.

Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Plateau State Simon Bako Lalong in a congratulatory message described the APC National Chairman as a patriotic Nigerian who has given impetus to good governance, social justice and accountability in Nigeria through the various positions he occupied over the years.

Lalong commended Oshiomhole for his leadership of Nigeria’s ruling party, the APC where he has provided leadership that has enabled the party to deliver Change to Nigerians and take the country to the Next Level.

While praying God to grant him more years of health, wisdom and divine protection, Governor Lalong urged the APC National to continue to deploy his experience and goodwill in working for a prosperous, just and stronger Nigeria.

Dr. Makut Simon Macham, ANIPR
Director of Press & Public Affairs to the Governor of Plateau State & Chairman, Northern Governors Forum.
4th April 2020.

By Peter Akpah

PLATEAU STATE GOVERNOR APPRECIATES CONTRIBUTIONS TO COVID-19 FUND

Plateau State Governor Simon Bako Lalong and Chairman of the COVID-19 Emergency Response Committee has expressed gratitude to corporate organisations and individuals within the State who have responded to his call for donations to the COVID-19 ENDOWMENT FUND established by the State Government.
Governor Lalong who was represented at the presentation of various donations by Secretary to Government of the State and Coordinating Secretary of the Taskforce Prof. Danladi Abok Atu said the State is grateful to all those who have heeded to the call for assistance.
Among organisations which have contributed materials and food items include Grand Cereals which donated 10 tonnes of fortified flour, 100 cartons of 2.75 litre vegetable oil, and 400 crates of eggs sourced from local poultry farmers. The donations were presented by the Managing Director of the Company.

Another donation was made by the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association, Plateau State Chapter who presented 6 cartons of face masks and 3 cartons of hand gloves to the Government. The Association also informed the government that the National Veterinary Research Institute has trained manpower and equipment that can be utilized for testing Corona Virus. What is needed according to them is the purchase of reagents and few accessories to make the facilities functional.

There were further donations by the Zuma Steel Company whose company representatives delivered hand sanitizers and face masks as part of their contribution to the Government efforts to tackle the disease.

Another organisation that made donation was the Nasco Group of Companies who delivered 500 cartons of hand sanitizers and washing soap to the State Government. General Manager Administration, Alhaji Shehu Nyalun said apart from the donations, the company will also directly make donations to members of the Public within its domain.

Prof. Danladi Atu who received all the donations on behalf of Governor Simon Lalong said the Government was elated that these organisations have responded positively. He said the items will be distributed for use in responding to the disease.

It would be recalled that the political appointees in the State including the Governor agreed to a 50% cut in their allowances as their contribution to the fight against corona virus.

The Government recently announced that it has established the Plateau State Covid-19 Support Fund. The Account is operated by the UBA which has donated 28.5 million naira. For other corporate
organisations and well spirited individuals who may wish to contribute, the
Account Number is: 1022751747.

President Félix Tshisekedi of DRC should respect human rights amid COVID-19, assist most vulnerable with food, clean water and security
The government of President Félix Tshisekedi should prioritize support for low-income communities, displaced people, and others at greatest risk as it responds to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Human Rights Watch said on Friday. “Congo’s government needs to react to the overwhelming

By Peter Akpah

Nasco group of company has donated some senitizers and hand was as part of their contribution to fight the coronavirus and in addressing the people the secretary to the government Prof Danladi Atu who recieved the relief materials unbehalf of the state government appreciated Nasco for the donation as what the brought will help the state, and the representative of Nasco also

commended the state government for the steps they have taken to stop the spread of the various into the state and that was why they have to support the government with some of their products that is helpfull in this time of the world greatest out break of the virus called cocid-19,

The secretary of the task force prof Danladi Atu in reactions on some questions asked about the tomatoes market at farigada over the way the market is crowded he expressed his disactisfaction over the none complaint of the social distancing and he also call on the Tri-cycle raiders popularly called keke napep union and NURTW union to make sure they tell their members to adhere to the government guideline of one person in Tri-cycle keke napep ABD 4 passenger in a car, and he said the task force have observed that they are violating the law of carrying one passenger and taxi 4 passengers, and he promised that the task force will start the enforcement with immediate effect, also the government has taken a decision that the popular tomatoes market in faringada jos, they should observe the social distance and if there is no complaint to the law then government will have no choice than to close the market so government is calling on the traders union to take proactive measures or face the market being close down, Prof Atu also said government can not endanger the life’s of the citizens due to careless mistakes.

Prof Atu also in a reaction to the question raised about if the state have purchased the ventilator they promised, he said government have acquired some ventilators and will soon arrived the state but he did not state the qualities but as soon as it arrived the will brief the press as usual.

By Peter Akpah

COVID-19: Dr. Umar Mantu to Distribute Green/Respiratory Face Masks, Powder Free Blue Nitrile Hand gloves, Thermometers and Hand Sanitizers

As the World continues to come up with ways to prevent the spread and contain the Coronavirus pandemic, a notable Philanthropist Barr. Umar Mantu, Ph.D through his Foundation “The Manumar Foundation” has concluded plans to distribute items to be used to further prevent the spread of the virus in Mangu and Bokkos Local Government Areas. This comes after a sensitisation exercise by the foundation last week.

Items to be distributed include Green/Respiratory Face Masks, Powder Free Blue Nitrile Hand gloves, Thermometers and Hand Sanitizers.

Dr. Umar Mantu described COVID-19 as a global threat and emergency calling on government and the people to take urgent and aggressive action that will stem the scourge.

Dr. Umar called on government at all levels to continuously strike a balance between protecting health, minimizing economic and social disruption, and avoiding human rights abuse of any kind.

He said the Country should be prepared and ready to combat the pandemic.

He therefore called for early detection, protection and treatment of all confirmed cases.

He said finding, isolating, testing and treating every case and tracing every contact becomes very critical to reduce rate of transmission.

Dr. Umar said with over 700,000 active cases and over 50,000 deaths recorded globally, with Nigeria having 174 confirmed cases with 2 deaths recorded, the public should take all safety, preventive and precautionary measures seriously considering how contagious the virus is.

He said while the pandemic has no known cure, it is his sincere prayer that it will not affect anyone of us or our loved ones; and that global health authority will quickly find a cure and produce a vaccine for the disease that has claimed many lives and shutdown the global socio-economic wellbeing of the people.

Dr. Umar urged the people to adhere strictly to all measures and restrictions being announced by government and its relevant agencies which he said are for public health and safety.

“Please note that in these uncertain times, there may well be some information disseminated through social media and word of mouth that is not based on fact; therefore I urge us to err on the side of caution and be wise in order to safeguard and protect ourselves.”

“Please note that the most efficient way of avoiding this contagion is by washing your hands with water and soap for up to 20 seconds, several times a day.”

“Please also practice social distancing and do not attend gatherings with more than 5-10 people, keeping at least a 2 metre distance between yourself and others.”

“It is also advised that you maintain a healthy diet in order to build up your immune systems.”

“Also, If for any reasons we notice symptoms such as high temperature, new and continuous coughs (that are unresponsive to antibiotics), loss of taste and smell consistently, please seek the necessary medical attention by contacting (NCDC/Plateau state ministry of health or your nearest medical centre)”

“This unprecedented virus has most definitely made an indelible mark on earth, forcing us to immediately refrain from things that we normally do, showing us what is truly invaluable; and that is good health in order to live life.”

“It is with this that I ask you to join me in prayer for each other, the health workers, authorities and any person helping fight this virus amongst other ailments and afflictions of life, be it health, prosperity, conflict etc that this too shall pass, through the grace and mercy of The Almighty. We pray He strengthens us, builds resilience, and inspire compassion within us all, in order to overcome any trials that come our way.”

“Always remember this virus doesn’t spread on it’s own, people spread it. Stay at home and keep safe.”

“God bless us all and our dear country” he concluded.