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@Fly_like_a_don It is all an accident. Nobody wanted it to happen. China scientists led by Shi Zhengli conducted research on Bats Coronavirus. Then the bats infected the scientists doing research at the lab. That is how the virus escaped. Shi Zhengli herself has published 4 research papers related to Bats Coronavirus explaining the researches that she and her team has done.

You are right. It is hard to proof anything. However the facts of the missing patient 0 Huang Yan Ling cannot be dismissed. People cannot disappear just like that.

https://www.ibtimes.sg/wuhan-labs-job-postings-coronavirus-bats-research-scientists-november-fuels-conspiracy-theory Wuhan lab's job postings for 'coronavirus and bats' research scientists in November fuels conspiracy theory The Wuhan Institute of Virology posted job listings looking for scientists to "research the relationship between the coronavirus and bats" weeks before the coronavirus outbreak A series of job listings posted by the Wuhan Institute of Virology weeks before the coronavirus outbreak in the Chinese city has reawakened the conspiracy theory which suggests that the deadly virus was leaked by a Wuhan lab. As pointed out by the National Review, the Wuhan Institute of Virology posted a job listing on November 18, 2019, for "scientists to come to research the relationship between the coronavirus and bats." Looking for scientists to conduct research on 'coronavirus and bats' "Taking bats as the research object, I will answer the molecular mechanism that can coexist with Ebola and SARS- associated coronavirus for a long time without the disease, and its relationship with flight and longevity," reads the Google translation of the posting. "Virology, immunology, cell biology, and multiple omics are used to compare the differences between humans and other mammals." On December 24, 2019, the institute posted a second listing. The duties and responsibilities of the job posting included "long-term research on the pathogenic biology of bats carrying important viruses has confirmed the origin of bats of major new human and livestock infectious diseases such as SARS and SADS, and a large number of new bat and rodent new viruses have been discovered and identified." According to Matthew Tye, a China-based documentary filmmaker and YouTuber who makes videos based on information obtained from public records, the second listing essentially translates to "we've discovered a new and terrible virus, and would like to recruit people to come deal with it." This is in line with the timeline of the outbreak. On December 31, about three weeks after doctors reported the first cases, the Chinese government notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of a "mystery pneumonia" that had hospitalized dozens of people in the city of Wuhan. Was COVID-19 leaked accidentally? A recently discovered Chinese documentary has added further fuelled the conspiracy theory. As previously reported, a seven-minute documentary film, posted online in December, shortly before the COVID-19 outbreak began, shows the lab's researcher Tian Junhua and his colleague exploring a cave to capture the nocturnal creatures for samples while wearing protective suits. In the documentary, Tian himself expresses the dangers of coming in close contact with bats due to the potential exposure to a host of viruses carried by them. Tian once failed to wear protective gear in a cave and as a result, was exposed to bat urine. In order to avoid contracting a disease, he was forced to quarantine himself for 14 days – the same self-isolation period recommended for people exposed to COVID-19. You can watch the documentary below: The revelation that the institute collected bat viruses for research combined with the fact that Wuhan virology lab is located just a few hundred yards away from the Huanan wet market, which was identified by health officials as the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, has led many to believe that the first COVID-19 infection may have occurred due to a laboratory accident and the job postings will give conspiracy theorists more evidence to support their claim.

https://www.ibtimes.sg/coronavirus-leaked-wuhan-lab-after-staff-accidentally-sprayed-blood-some-uk-ministers-believe-so-42468 Coronavirus leaked from Wuhan lab after staff accidentally sprayed with blood? Some UK ministers believe so UK government officials and ministers are not ruling out the theory that COVID-19 was leaked in a Wuhan lab after researchers at the lab were accidentally sprayed with blood. Visualization of the effectiveness of face masks amid coronavirus UK ministers believe the theory that the coronavirus outbreak may have been caused by an accidental leak by a Wuhan laboratory is "credible," raising questions over claims made by health officials that the deadly virus was traced to a wet market in the Chinese city. Theory 'no longer being discounted' by UK government Senior UK government officials claim that while "the balance of scientific advice" suggests that COVID-19 was first transmitted to humans from a live animal market in Wuhan, a leak from a laboratory in the city is "no longer being discounted," as reported by the Daily Mail on Sunday. A member of Cobra, the emergency cross-departmental committee led by Boris Johnson, said last night that while UK intelligence does not dispute claims that the virus was "zoonotic," which means it originated from animals, it has not ruled out the possibility that the virus could have been leaked from a Wuhan research laboratory. The member of the top-level committee, which receives detailed and classified briefings from the country's security services, said: "There is a credible alternative view [to the zoonotic theory] based on the nature of the virus. Perhaps it is no coincidence that there is that laboratory in Wuhan. It is not discounted." Lab researchers accidentally sprayed with blood? Conspiracy theorists have been pushing the story for quite some time now that the virus was leaked by the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which is located just 16 km away from the notorious animal market. According to the state-run People's Daily newspaper, the institute was "capable of conducting experiments with highly pathogenic microorganisms." Coronavirus Despite being a million-dollar institution with high security protocols, there are reports claiming that researchers at the institute became infected with COVID-19 after being accidentally sprayed by blood, and then transmitting the virus to the local population. We already know that the institute was carrying out research on bats and was looking for scientists that can help study the relationship between bats and coronavirus thanks to a series of job listings posted by the institute in November 2019, which have recently come to light. Another research lab in the city, the Wuhan Centre for Disease Control, which is barely three miles away from the Huanan wet market, the alleged "ground zero" of coronavirus, also regularly conducted experiments on bats to study the transmission of coronaviruses, as recently pointed out by a Chinese documentary. Bat research at the Wuhan CDC A study conducted by the South University of Technology also concluded that COVID-19 "probably" originated in the Centre for Disease Control, although shortly after its research was published, the paper was pulled from a social networking site for scientists and researchers. Labs did not follow standard infection-control protocol According to American microbiology expert Professor Richard Ebright, although the evidence suggests COVID-19 was not engineered in one of the Wuhan laboratories, it could easily have leaked from the labs while it was being analysed. Professor Ebright said there is evidence to prove that scientists at the Centre for Disease Control and the Institute of Virology studied the viruses with only "Level 2" security instead of the recommended "Level 4," which does not provide sufficient protection to staff members against infections. Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 Wikimedia Commons "Virus collection, culture, isolation, or animal infection would pose a substantial risk of infection of a lab worker, and from the lab worker then the public," he told the Daily Mail. The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2004 was due to a leak from a laboratory in 2004, killing one person and infecting nine others. The leak was due to negligence, for which five senior officials at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention were punished. Lab researcher identified as 'patient zero' Interestingly enough, early reports of the first patient identified with COVID-19, were traced back to the Institute of Virology. A Lancet study also revealed that the "patient zero," a woman named Huang Yanling, had never visited the Wuhan animal market but worked as a researcher at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, as previously reported. However, the claim was dismissed by the institute as "fake information," stating that Huang left the institute in 2015, was in good health and had not been diagnosed by coronavirus.

https://www.ibtimes.sg/rare-pictures-mysterious-wuhan-virus-lab-fuel-conspiracy-theory-coronavirus-origin-further Rare pictures of mysterious Wuhan virus lab fuel conspiracy theory on Coronavirus origin further Photos taken inside Wuhan lab showed scientists donning full-body protective suits and head shields These photos has sparked conspiracy theories for Coronavirus origin Since the Novel Coronavirus outbreak in December 2019 netizens have become suspicious about the Wuhan Institute of Virology as it is claimed that the Coronavirus was leaked from the particular lab where the researchers were studying the virus for seven years. Now, some rare pictures from the laboratory have sparked startling theories amid Coronavirus pandemic. The laboratory in Wuhan which keeps more than 1,500 strains of deadly viruses, specialises in research of 'the most dangerous pathogens', in particular the viruses carried by bats. The Coronavirus origin conspiracy While many scientists claimed earlier that the deadly Coronavirus which has infected over 1.6 million people globally jumped to humans from wild animals sold as food in a market in Wuhan, there are several theories which contradict such claims. Some experts and officials also claimed that the virus, called as SARS-CoV-2, could be a biological warfare weapon engineered in China, while another set of people claimed that the virus was stored in Wuhan lab from where it escaped. As per recent reports, the speculation of a virus leak from Wuhan lab is no longer being discounted by the UK government either. Meanwhile, a few images appeared on social media platforms and news sites, which were captured between 2015 and 2017. These photos give us an opportunity to look inside the interiors of the controversial institute in Wuhan. The images showed Wuhan researchers were wearing full-body protective suits like astronauts as well as the head shields inside the lab while conducting experiments. The SARS virus had already “escaped” several times from a lab in Beijing, according to article. The Wuhan lab was the first certified to study what are called BSL-4 pathogens. The Wuhan laboratory Officials in China decided to build the laboratory after the country suffered from SARS outbreak in 2002 and 2003 which infected 8,422 people and killed 774 individuals worldwide. The laboratory took 15 years to get completed. It is a four-storey lab with the highest biosafety level of P4 and the most advanced lab in China. A Chinese virologist, Zhou Peng in 2018 told state news agency Xinhua: "We are proud to say that we are already at the forefront in the field of studying the immunity mechanism of bats, which carry viruses for a long time. Bats carry viruses but are not infected [by them]. [They] provide hope for mankind to study how to fight viruses." Later, Beijing News reported that researchers found that humans might have caught the coronavirus directly from bats after conducting studies. It should be noted that Wuhan Institute of Virology is situated about 10 miles from the Wuhan Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, believed to be the source of the new Coronavirus outbreak, while Wuhan Centre for Disease Control is barely three miles from the market. As per Professor Richard Ebright of Rutgers University's Waksman Institute of Microbiology, New Jersey, it is suggested that the virus is not created in a lab, but it could have easily escaped from there while it was being analysed. He also said that he has seen researchers at both the laboratories who studied the viruses with only 'level 2' security – rather than the recommended level 4. That means there are only minimal protections against infection of lab workers. "Virus collection, culture, isolation, or animal infection would pose a substantial risk of infection of a lab worker, and from the lab worker then the public. He concluded that the evidence left 'a basis to rule out [that coronavirus is] a lab construct, but no basis to rule out a lab accident," Prof Ebright added. While rejecting such claims, earlier Dr Gerald Keusch, a Boston-based professor said that bat Coronavirus is resembling SARS, while the new Novel Coronavirus has been isolated by many groups of legitimate scientists, which includes Wuhan lab and US investigators. He also added that anxiety increases at the time of crisis and "it is easier to explain the appearance of an aberration like SARS-CoV-2 as the result of an act of deliberation or incompetence of a laboratory than it is to admit to the fact that nature and evolution, assisted by environmental factors and human intrusions into environmental ecosystems, results in viral evolution."

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/why-lockdowns-work-epidemics-coronavirus-covid19/ Why lockdowns can halt the spread of COVID-19 The UK, US, EU and many other countries are currently in some degree of “lockdown,” with restaurants and bars, shops, schools and gyms closed, and citizens required, or at least strongly encouraged, to stay home to avoid catching or spreading COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus. Researchers are well on their way to discovering vaccines and treatments for the virus, but even in a best-case scenario, these are likely to be 12-18 months away. Until then, extreme social distancing is pretty much the only intervention available to help individuals stay healthy, and to break the chain of transmission - giving more vulnerable populations a fighting chance of surviving this pandemic. But how exactly does a lockdown work? And why is it important for even younger and healthier people, who face a lower risk of severe illness, to remain in their homes as much as possible? The goal: R<1 The purpose of a lockdown, explains a new study from the Imperial College London COVID-19 Response Team, is to reduce reproduction – in other words, to reduce the number of people each confirmed case infects. The goal is to keep reproduction, or “R,” below one (R<1) – with each case infecting fewer than one other person, on average. The authors of the study say there are two routes to try to get there: Mitigation, “slowing but not necessarily stopping epidemic spread – reducing peak healthcare demand while protecting those most at risk of severe disease from infection.” This is done by isolating suspected cases and their households, and social distancing the elderly and people at highest risk of serious illness. Suppression, or basically, lockdown, which “aims to reverse epidemic growth, reducing case numbers to low levels” by social distancing the entire population “indefinitely” and closing schools and universities. The study’s models show that, painful as lockdown may be for many of us, it works. Without any lockdown or social distancing measures, we can expect peak mortality in approximately three months. In this scenario, 81% of the UK and US populations would be infected, with 510,000 dying in the UK and 2.2 million dying in the US. Unmitigated epidemic scenarios for GB and the US In contrast, isolating confirmed and suspected cases and social distancing the elderly and vulnerable would “reduce peak critical care demand by two-thirds and halve the number of deaths.” To get closer to the goal of R<1, they say, “a combination of case isolation, social distancing of the entire population and either household quarantine or school and university closure are required." The study finds this "intensive policy is predicted to result in a reduction in critical care requirements from a peak approximately three weeks after the interventions are introduced and a decline thereafter while the intervention policies remain in place." Mitigation strategy scenarios for GB showing critical care (ICU) bed requirements While the word “indefinitely” isn’t one we want to hear, it’s possible long-term suppression could be the best way to reduce infections and deaths – at least until a vaccine is available. So, have the lockdowns worked? Starting 23 January 2020, the Chinese government locked down Hubei Province, including Wuhan, the city of 11 million where the outbreak started. They halted transportation in and out and barred tens of millions of people from working or going to school and closed all shops except those selling food or medicine. In some areas, residents were even forced to limit trips to the store, or order supplies for delivery. This unprecedented lockdown of tens of millions of people was considered a “vast experiment” – but it may have worked. Following the lockdown, cases began to slow. On 19 March, China’s National Health Commission reported no new confirmed infections in Hubei. Following the lockdown, new COVID-19 cases in China slowed. Italy and Spain have been under similarly intense nationwide lockdowns, from 9 March and 15 March, respectively, with citizens required to stay in their homes except for work, food shopping or medical appointments. In parts of Italy where lockdowns started earlier, however, we're already seeing a "flattening of the curve". Lodi, for example, locked down on 23 February, but Bergamo did not lock down until 8 March. Now, cases seem to be leveling off in Lodi. This week, both Italy and Spain reported their largest daily increases in COVID-19-related deaths. But if the lockdown models, hypothetical and real, are correct, the peaks could be approaching.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/10/uk-lockdown-extended-coronavirus/ UK coronavirus lockdown: how long has it been extended for, and have rules changed? Government has closed schools, pubs, restaurants, cafes, gyms and other businesses under new lockdown measures Excerpts from the article above. UK coronavirus lockdown: the new rules, and what they mean for daily life Boris Johnson has placed the UK on a police-enforced lockdown with drastic new measures in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak. The Prime Minister ordered people only to leave their homes under a list of "very limited purposes", banned public gatherings of more than two people and ordered the closure of non-essential shops. Every citizen must comply with these new measures and the relevant authorities, including the police, have been given the powers to enforce them through fines and dispersing gatherings. These measures were introduced on March 23, and the Government had stated these measures would be reviewed after three weeks, and relaxed if the evidence showed this was possible. However, at the government briefing on April 9, Dominic Raab announced that the lockdown rules will "have to stay in place until we've got the evidence that clearly shows we've moved beyond the peak"....

Thank you very much for your information.

Countries worldwide who have conducted the least number of testing. This data is taken based on the numbers of citizens tested out of 1 million people. Countries who have done less than 100 tests per 1 million people in their country thus far. 1. North Korea 28 out of 1 million 2. Bangladesh 31 out of 1 million 3. Indonesia 50 out of 1 million 4. Bolivia 52 out of 1 million 5. Venezuela 62 out of 1 million 6. Nepal 84 out of 1 million 7. India 95 out of 1 million This is the number of tests shown online. These 7 countries are said to have done the least number of tests per 1 million citizens. Some countries are very large hence they have to do a lot of testing. Some countries are small and of course they do not need to do so much of testing. It is inaccurate to look at the number of tests done per country because it varies according to the number of citizens in the country. Hence the website has collected data of how many citizens are tested per 1 million citizens in the country to make the data more accurate. Accordingly countries who have done lots of testing will be safer. Whereas countries who have done less testing may be in danger. When we do not test enough of people, many cases will go undetected and the virus will spread rapdily. This is the data given at the WHO website.

Another interesting article. https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24532754-600-can-you-catch-the-coronavirus-twice-we-dont-know-yet/ Can you catch the coronavirus twice? We don’t know yet We don’t have enough evidence yet to know if recovering from covid-19 induces immunity, or whether any immunity would give long-lasting protection against the coronavirus Excerpts from the article above. SAY you have caught covid-19 and recovered – are you now immune for life, or could you catch it again? We just don’t know yet. In February, reports emerged of a woman in Japan who had been given the all-clear after having covid-19 but then tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus a second time. There have also been reports of a man in Japan testing positive after being given the all-clear, and anecdotal cases of second positives have emerged from China, too. This has raised fears that people may not develop immunity to the virus. This would mean that, until we have an effective vaccine, we could all experience repeated rounds of infection. But the science is still uncertain. “There is some anecdotal evidence of reinfections, but we really don’t know,” says Ira Longini at the University of Florida. It may be that the tests used were unreliable, which is a problem with tests for other respiratory viruses, says Jeffrey Shaman at Columbia University in New York.

Another interesting article online. https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24532693-500-coronavirus-how-well-prepared-are-countries-for-a-covid-19-pandemic/ Coronavirus: How well prepared are countries for a covid-19 pandemic? No country is fully prepared for a coronavirus pandemic, according to a public health expert. But some countries will be better placed to handle an outbreak than others Excerpts from the long article above. So is the rest of the world ready for the coronavirus? The short answer is no. “I am utterly convinced that no country is fully prepared,” says Jennifer Nuzzo at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Maryland. As long as the number of cases spreading beyond China remains a trickle, rich countries are well placed to do this. But many poorer countries don’t yet have the capacity to test for the virus.

Interesting news online. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/god-decide-health-workers-indonesia-brace-covid-19-200405005512303.html Indonesia's health workers brace for COVID-19 onslaught Indonesia has one of the world's highest COVID-19 mortality rates, and is changing the way it deals with the dead. Excerpts from the long article above. Among the dead have been some of those on the front lines, including two hospital directors and 12 doctors, according to the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI). One of those doctors was Ucok Martin from Medan, a friend and colleague of Sormin's. Questions have been raised about how to keep front-line workers safe in Indonesia, where there is a chronic lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), with reports that some doctors and other medical staff are having to improvise with things like plastic raincoats and bin bags. "Indonesia isn't serious about taking transparent and effective steps to handle this pandemic," said Usman Hamid, who heads Amnesty Indonesia. "If this is allowed to continue, the number of deaths of patients and medical staff will continue to rise. This could be a humanitarian crisis, especially for the healthcare sector." It is similar elsewhere in the country, including in the capital, Jakarta, where governor Anies Basewdan told the media on March 30 that 283 people had been buried according to coronavirus stipulations, even as the BNPB put the death toll for the entire country at 170 on April 2.

Thank you for your reply.

Well this is what the ranking online says. To be honest with you I find it difficult to agree with the ranking given either.

You are right about this.

It really got me laughing aloud when it says that US and UK appeared to be the 2 most prepared countries to face the pandemic. I was like what? Is this for real?

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/global-pandemic-preparedness-ranked/ Countries who are the most prepared to face the pandemic according to ranking. Rank / Country #1 United States #2 United Kingdom #3 Netherlands #4 Australia #5 Canada #6 Thailand #7 Sweden #8 Denmark #9 South Korea #10 Finland #11 France #12 Slovenia #13 Switzerland #14 Germany #15 Spain #16 Norway #17 Latvia #18 Malaysia #19 Belgium #20 Portugal