A rumor saying that Russian scientists found the new coronavirus was produced by humans was refuted by Russia itself on Friday.
Facts Tell: Russia denies new coronavirus is man-made
A rumor saying that Russian scientists found the new coronavirus was produced by humans was refuted by Russia itself on Friday.
The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (MHRF) told Sputnik, a Russian government-owned news agency, on Friday that they never admitted the new coronavirus is man-made.
The document mentioned that the novel coronavirus had been verified by Russian scientists as an artificially synthesized virus, with relevant documents being published on the official website of the MHRF.
Screenshot circulated on social media
After checking the official website of the MHRF, a CGTN reporter found no information related to the rumor. The only document found was a temporary prevention, diagnosis and treatment guideline against the new coronavirus, published by MHRF on February 3.
The guideline in Russian said the novel coronavirus is suspected to be a recombination of the a coronavirus in bats and other unknown origins, adding its genetic sequence is at least 70 percent similar to that of the SARS coronavirus.
Screenshot from Sputnik
Screenshot from Sputnik
The Chinese embassy in Russia has sought confirmation from experts and also made an explanation that recombination is a process by which pieces of nuclear acid materials are broken and recombined to produce new combinations of genes. It is one of the basic natural processes such as replication and transcription, and has nothing to do with human involvement.
Screenshot from The Lancet
Screenshot from The Lancet
The statement, published on Wednesday in both English and Chinese, also alerted that “the rapid, open, and transparent sharing of data on this outbreak is now being threatened by rumors and misinformation around its origins.”