US suspends funding to Wuhan Institute of Virology for obstruction of COVID-19 research

July 19 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The White House has suspended access to funds from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, because it has not provided the necessary documents to investigate the origin of the COVID-19 virus, according to a document obtained by the Bloomberg agency.

According to the text, the Department of Health and Human Services notified the entity of the suspension on Monday, informing it of its intention to disable it completely.

After a review that began in September, it was found that the center — which is a Chinese agency located in Wuhan — did not comply with federal regulations, reports the aforementioned news agency.

This measure by Washington is intended to pressure Beijing to share more information about the origin of the pandemic. The US side has reiterated on numerous occasions that it is “probable” that the virus originated in a Chinese laboratory, although for the moment there is “no evidence” that the intentions of the Chinese authorities were to use it as a biological weapon.

China has urged the United States to “stop politicizing” the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, after FBI director Christopher Wray and the US Department of Energy pointed to the possibility of an accident in a laboratory at the Wuhan city, considered the ‘zero ground’ of SARS-CoV-2.

A study by the US Department of Energy determined, although “with low confidence”, that the pandemic originated after an accident in a Chinese laboratory in that city, although other US agencies attribute the spread of the virus to natural contagion, while there are others who have not decided on it.