Did the US Military Games Delegation Spread COVID-19 in Wuhan?
A Chinese state newspaper (Global Times) asks the US to reveal information about the health of American military athletes who came to Wuhan in October 2019.
Citizens, as well as Chinese experts, demand that Washington make public the information on the American military athletes who attended the World Military Games last October that took place in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak of the new coronavirus, known COVID-19 , and put an end to the conjecture about the origin of the pathogen, the Chinese state newspaper Global Times published on Wednesday.
The report was released after an American journalist, George Webb, claimed that an American military athlete, Maatje Benassi, a cyclist who was in Wuhan at the time for the cycling competition at the World Military Games, could have been COVID -19 patient zero in Wuhan.
Patient Zero from Wuhan, Maatje Benassi, is a Dutch American woman cyclist. Her husband is also a cyclist in the US Atmed Forces (SPAWAR) and believe you be in Wahan in October of 2019. Benny Benassi is Patrient Zero in Holland, and has already made a rap video about Coronavirus pic.twitter.com/u1Z5VuYCaG
— TruthLeaks – Investigative Journalist George Webb (@GeorgWebb) March 22, 2020
In this regard, in a publication on the official website of the United States Department of Defense on October 25, it was mentioned that Maatje Benassi participated in a 50-mile bicycle race in Wuhan shortly before the outbreak.
In addition, Chinese citizens have been asking the North American country to analyze Benassi for COVID-19 and to disclose the information about the American delegation, because very strong evidence has not yet been provided.
Webb next cited the US laboratory, Fort Detrick , which has until recently been the primary focus of the US Army Medical Command’s biological weapons program. In the state of Maryland, fatal infectious material such as Ebola virus and smallpox was being studied in these facilities, but it was abruptly closed in August 2019.
In this regard, Professor at the Chinese Foreign University in Beijing, Li Haidong, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the US government must respond to the controversy and publish relevant information about the American military athlete and her state of health to clear public doubts and to help us with scientific studies on the origin of the virus.
“Identifying the origin will help develop effective therapy for the disease. The United States should provide information to members of the delegation to support related research,” said Li.
The US Government was not far behind and claimed that the new coronavirus is “made in China, ” while global scientists, including Americans, have found no solid evidence to prove the origin of the pandemic. Furthermore, there are many who believe that COVID-19 is a biological weapon of the United States or Israel to harm China, among others.
Zhao Lijian, one of the spokesmen for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, recently stated on his Twitter account that the US was the one who started the discussion on the origin of COVID-19 and used “Chinese virus” for the first time to stigmatize China, drawing harsh criticism from Beijing.
5/6 It was U.S. that started the argument about the origin of #COVID19. U.S. first used “Chinese virus” & “Wuhan virus”. On March 6, Pompeo used “Wuhan virus”. Since then, some US politicians have been using these terms to stigmatize China, causing strong opposition in China.
— Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) March 24, 2020
For his part, at a press conference held on Wednesday, China’s chief medical adviser, Zhong Nanshan, rejected the widespread claim that the new coronavirus originated in Wuhan and criticized such allegations as irresponsible.
“The new coronavirus pneumonia pandemic occurred in China, in Wuhan … but it does not mean that it originated in Wuhan,” said Zhong.
COVID-19, a deadly disease caused by the new coronavirus, has infected 471,802 people worldwide and killed 21,297.
rtk / lvs / hnb
Featured image: The U.S. Armed Forces Sports Team March at the opening ceremony of the 2019 World Military Games in Wuhan, China.
Source URL: HispanTV (use VPN in the US to read it) with OT content
Translated and edited by JRE/EF
ORIGINAL IN SPANISH
Un periódico estatal chino pide a EE.UU. que revele información sobre la salud de los atletas militares estadounidenses que vinieron a Wuhan en octubre de 2019.
El informe se publicó después de que un periodista estadounidense, George Webb, afirmara que un atleta militar estadounidense, Maatje Benassi, un piloto diplomático armado y ciclista que estuvo en Wuhan en la fecha para la competencia de ciclismo en los Juegos Mundiales Militares, podría haber sido el paciente cero de COVID -19 en Wuhan.
En este sentido, en una publicación del sitio web oficial del Departamento de Defensa de Estados Unidos el 25 de octubre, se ha mencionado que Maatje Benassi ha participado en una carrera ciclista de 50 millas en Wuhan poco antes del brote.
Asimismo, los ciudadanos chinos han estado pidiendo al país norteamericano de analizar a Benassi para COVID-19 y divulgar la información sobre la delegación estadounidense, debido a que aún no se han proporcionado pruebas muy sólidas.
A continuación, Webb citó el laboratorio estadounidense, Fort Detrick, el cual ha sido hasta hace poco el principal centro del programa de armas biológicas del Comando Médico del Ejército de EE.UU. en el estado de Maryland y que en esas instalaciones se estudiaba material infeccioso mortal, como el virus del Ébola y la enfermedad de la viruela, pero fue clausurado abruptamente en agosto de 2019.
Al respecto, el profesor de la Universidad de Asuntos Exteriores de China en Beijing, Li Haidong, precisó al Global Times el martes que el gobierno de EE.UU. debe responder a la controversia y publicar la información relevante sobre el atleta militar estadounidense y su estado de salud para despejar dudas públicas y que nos ayude con estudios científicos sobre el origen del virus.
“Identificar el origen ayudará a desarrollar una terapia efectiva en la enfermedad. Estados Unidos debería proporcionar información a los miembros de la delegación para apoyar la investigación relacionada”, dijo Li.
El Gobierno de EE.UU. no se quedó atrás y afirmó que el nuevo coronavirus es “made in China”, mientras que los científicos globales, incluidos los estadounidenses, no han encontrado pruebas sólidas para probar el origen de la pandemia. Además, son muchos los que opinan que el COVID-19 es un arma biológica de EE.UU. o Israel para dañar a China, entre otros.
Zhao Lijian, uno de los portavoces del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores de China, aseveró recientemente en su cuenta de la red social Twitter que EE.UU. fue el que comenzó la discusión sobre el origen de COVID-19 y utilizó por primera vez “virus chino” para estigmatizar a China, provocando duras críticas por parte de Pekín.
Lijian Zhao 赵立坚✔@zlj517
Por su parte, en una rueda de prensa celebrada el pasado miércoles, el asesor médico jefe de China, Zhong Nanshan, rechazó la afirmación generalizada de que el nuevo coronavirus se originara en Wuhan y criticó tales alegatos tachándolos de irresponsables.
“La pandemia de la nueva neumonía por el coronavirus tuvo lugar en China, en Wuhan (…) pero no significa que su origen esté en Wuhan”, afirmó Zhong.
COVID-19, una enfermedad mortal causada por el nuevo coronavirus, ha infectado a 471 802 personas en todo el mundo y ha matado a otras 21 297.
rtk/lvs/hnb
