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China is using a new study into the early and hidden spread of the coronavirus in Italy to cast doubt on the firmly held assumption that the Asian nation was the birthplace of the pandemic, according to reports.
Beijing officials are launching a new study that suggests the contagion may have spread throughout the European nation as early as September – three months before it was confirmed to be spreading in the supposed long-standing epicenter of the Chinese city of Wuhan, London noted.
The Asian nation has also previously questioned Spain about the origins of the pandemic, as well as the US military, claiming it brought the virus to Wuhan in October last year during the Military World Games, according to the report. .
Chinese state media have now strongly pushed the idea that the new study by the National Cancer Institute proves that the contagion probably started in Italy, and not in China, according to the British newspaper.
“This shows once again that finding the source of the virus is a complex scientific matter that should be left to scientists,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, according to the UK Times. “[It] is a development process that can involve several countries. “
The World Health Organization has admitted that it is possible that the virus “circulated silently elsewhere” before it was detected in Wuhan.
However, many scientists are skeptical of the results of the Italian study – and others note that it does not rule out the coronavirus originating in China.
“We know that China has delayed announcing its outbreak, so it is not known when it started there, and China has very strong trade ties with northern Italy,” Giovanni Apolone said. from the National Cancer Institute in Milan to the UK Times.
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