Like a needle: Wuhan lab scientists admit being ‘bitten by Covid-infected bats’

Agencies

Scientists at the Wuhan laboratory in China have admitted “being bitten while collecting samples in a cave” which is home to coronavirus-infected bats.

According to a report, a researcher said that “one animal’s fangs had gone through his rubber gloves like a needle while he was collecting samples in a cave” in 2017.

Staff inside the top-secret facility could be also seen handling bats without gloves and working on “live viruses” without masks in an apparent breach of strict World Health Organization (WHO) safety rules on PPE, according to footage captured by a Chinese TV crew and broadcast in 2017.

The latest revelations will raise further questions for the WHO team which is investigating the origins of Covid-19, following months of wrangling with Beijing over access to the Wuhan site.

Some 13 international experts of the WHO had arrived in Wuhan on Thursday (January 14) for the long-awaited probe into the origins of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, while two others did not board the flight from Singapore to the central Chinese city after they tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies.

China also reported its first death from Covid-19 in eight months on Thursday as the country is battling to contain a resurgence in cases. More than 20 million people are under lockdown in the north of the country and one province has declared an emergency, as daily Covid-19 numbers climb after months of reporting only a handful of daily cases.

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