The coronavirus has now caused over 300,000 deaths and nearly 6 million confirmed cases around the world. Unfortunately, the current pandemic may not be the last in our lifetime. A famous Chinese virologist dubbed 'Batwoman' recently warned the public that the novel coronavirus may not be the last pandemic that will occur on the planet. She said that this virus is "just [the] tip of the iceberg."
Chinese expert warns more outbreaks may come soon aside COVID-19
As reported via Bloomberg, Shi Zhengli, a Chinese virologist known for her work on coronavirus in bats, recently said that the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the coronavirus may not be the last pandemic we should expect.
She called for international unity among countries affected by the virus to quickly identify other outbreaks that humans may acquire from other wild animals used for consumption. She also said that Coronavirus was "just [the] tip of the iceberg." And that other pandemics may occur soon if governments won't stop the blaming game against China.
"If we want to prevent human beings from suffering from the next infectious disease outbreak, we must go in advance to learn of these unknown viruses carried by wild animals in nature and give early warnings," Shi told CGTN. "If we don't study them there will possibly be another outbreak."
Aside from being an expert in studying bat viruses, Shi was also the deputy director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology--which was being accused as the place from which the virus was allegedly created and first spread.
She said that it is "very regrettable" that science is now being politicized, instead of governments being transparent and cooperative with researchers.
Wuhan virology director said Coronavirus lab is just "pure fabrication"
Many countries have now put the blame on China of for the creation of the coronavirus after unfounded theories were released in different media platforms.
It was said that a specific lab inside Wuhan province was created to start a viral disease and to prove that they're better than the United States when it comes to finding the cure.
However, these speculations were already answered by the director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Wang Yanyi. The Wuhan Lab Chief said that the lab was "pure fabrication" and nothing about these claims were based on facts.
"This is pure fabrication. Our institute first received the clinical sample of unknown pneumonia on December 30 last year. After we checked the pathogen within the sample, we found it contained a new coronavirus, which is now called SARS-CoV-2," Wang said. "We didn't have any knowledge before that, nor had we ever encountered, researched, or kept the virus. In fact, like everyone else, we didn't even know the virus existed. How could it have leaked from our lab when we never had it?"
