US, Canada have funded Chinese lab eyed as likely source of coronavirus outbreak
Both the United States and Canada have sent money to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Chinese lab that multiple sources tell Fox News is suspected of being the likely source of the coronavirus pandemic -- with the Canadian funding coming as recently as last month.
Fox News reported Wednesday that, according to sources, there is increasing confidence the novel coronavirus likely escaped from the Wuhan laboratory, where it was being studied, with a worker spreading it to the larger population.
CORONAVIRUS: WHAT TO KNOW
In a news release from early March, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research announced millions in funding to research and develop tools such as vaccines and tests to combat the coronavirus. One project that got $828,046 from the agency was aimed at developing a rapid coronavirus test "using isothermal amplification and CRISPR technology." Among the organizations on the project was the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
"The collaborative research is conducted by a multi-disciplinary team of virologists, chemists, infectious disease specialists, front-line practitioners, and public health researchers from the University of Alberta, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and Wuhan Institute of Virology (China)," a backgrounder detailing where the Canadian government's grant money was going reads. "Our team members in Wuhan who currently perform the standard diagnostic tests will lead this effort."
