Scientists have yet to determine the exact origin of the coronavirus, which has now seen over 71,000 deaths in the United States and over a million cases. Despite President Donald Trump’s theory that the virus originated in a lab in Wuhan, infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci refutes this claim.
CNN reports that in an interview with National Geographic, Dr. Fauci explained what he believes, would be the origin of the coronavirus. “If you look at the evolution in bats and what’s out there now…is very, very, strongly leaning towards this could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated…Everything about the stepwise evolution over time indicates that…evolved in nature and jumped species.”
Dr. Fauci’s explanation lines up with the intelligence community’s assessment that the virus was not manmade nor genetically modified. It also further refutes Trump’s theory that the virus was a result of a lab accident in Wuhan, the place where the pandemic began. Many have also concurred with the statement that the virus did not come as a lab accident. “It is likely it was naturally occurring and that the human infection was from natural human and animal interaction,” said a Western diplomatic official.
Trump previously stated he was highly confident in his theory after supposedly looking through the intelligence assessments made by the DNI. However, when he was asked why he thinks the virus originated in that manner, Trump said, “I can’t tell you that. I’m not allowed to tell you that.”
Meanwhile, The Guardian reports that Trump is currently preparing to wind down the coronavirus task force despite the increase in deaths from the pandemic and despite the experts’ advice that the situation will only worsen over time. Vice President Mike Pence stated that the pandemic response would be brought back to federal agencies by the latter part of May or the early part of June.
This follows reports of a leaked internal White House report that the deaths from the pandemic would skyrocket to 3,000 per day by June. This also raises concerns that Trump is prioritizing economic stability over public health.
“I’m not saying everything is perfect, and yes, will some people be affected? Yes. Will some people be affected badly? Yes. But we have to get our country open, and we have to get it open soon,” said Trump during a visit to Arizona.