'Lab leak' theory unfounded
Claim about institute workers' infection 'created out of thin air', researcher says
The Wuhan Institute of Virology has never engineered or leaked the novel coronavirus and no staff members have ever contracted the virus, a researcher from the institute said on Thursday.
Yuan Zhiming, who is also director of the National Biosafety Laboratory in Wuhan, Hubei province, said that the institute had not come in contact with, preserved or researched the virus before Dec 30, 2019.
"The infrastructure, management levels, team composition and working protocols at the institute's P4 biosafety laboratory are the same as other P4 labs in operation around the world," he said at a news conference held by the State Council Information Office. "Since the laboratory began operating in 2018, no laboratory leaks or human infection incidents have ever happened."