'China lied about COVID-19', claims Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma

GUWAHATI: Assam's newly-elected chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has flayed neighbouring China over its alleged attempts to hide that it knew about the COVID-19 virus before it spun its destructive wave around the world, killing millions.

Sarma cited a Wall Street Journal report suggesting that three scientists from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) sought hospital care in November 2019, a month before China reported the first cases of COVID-19.

Himanta Biswa Sarma, sharing a Reuters article titled China titled 'Wuhan lab staff sought hospital care before COVID-19 outbreak disclosed - WSJ', wrote, "China lied about the virus. 3 researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology sought hospital care in November 2019, before China disclosed the first outbreak. U.S. intelligence found as per WSJ. The world deserves to know the truth."

ALSO READ: Witch-Hunting in Assam: Elderly Man Killed by Mob; 5 Held

Although many governments have criticized China for its handling of the virus during the initial outbreak, it is quite uncommon for a chief minister of an Indian state to openly chastise the global superpower on social media.

If this is indeed true, it could prompt calls for a broader investigation into whether the COVID-19 virus could have escaped from the laboratory.

The first cases of what would eventually be known as COVID-19 were reported at the end of December 2019 in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the advanced laboratory specialising in coronavirus research is located.

Chinese authorities, dismissing the  SARS-CoV-2 could have been circulating in other regions before it hit Wuhan, and might have even entered China from another country via imported frozen food shipments or wildlife trading.

It is widely believed that the COVID-19 first entered humans at the animal market in the Chinese city.

India’s death toll is the third-highest reported in the world, accounting for 8.6% of the nearly 34.7 million coronavirus fatalities globally, though the true numbers are thought to be significantly greater. The rate of infections in China seems to have eased, however, with the Asian powerhouse reporting 'only' 15 fresh cases on May 24.

Follow us on Facebook