Secretary of State Mike Pompeo backed President Donald Trump’s assertion that the coronavirus originated in a lab in Wuhan, China.
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently stated that SARS-CoV-2 originated in a biosafety level 4 lab in Wuhan, China
- According to Francis Boyle, professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law, who drafted the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989, BSL 3 and 4 labs must be banned to prevent a catastrophe
- Serious safety breaches have been identified at laboratories working with the most lethal and dangerous pathogens in the world
- In October 2014, a U.S. moratorium on experiments on coronaviruses that might make the viruses more pathogenic and/or easy to spread among humans took effect. The moratorium was lifted at the end of December 2017
- Despite the U.S. moratorium, Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the NIAID, allowed coronavirus gain-of-function experiments to continue because they had begun before the moratorium was put in place. The Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989 calls for fines and/or up to life in prison for anyone involved in the creation of a bioweapon
The idea that SARS-CoV-2 originated in a bioweapons laboratory is gaining traction. May 3, 2020, The New York Times reported1New York Times May 3, 2020 that during an ABC “This Week” interview Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had stated “the coronavirus originated in a lab in Wuhan.” Pompeo also accused China of covering up the leak.
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