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Virus Origin: Southern Medical University Found the Coronavirus Is Unlikely to Evolve from Bats

Caixin reported that a research paper from the Southern Medical University Biosafety Level 3 (P3) Lab stated that the novel coronavirus is unlikely to have evolved from RaTG13, the bat coronavirus, which shares the most similar genome. It also suggested that the coronavirus was likely to have started between September 23, 2019 and December 15, 2019.

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Resuming Production: China’s Pollution Level Declined Due to Reduced Production and Travel

Satellite images published by NASA showed a dramatic decline in pollution levels over China. The US space agency said that it was “partly related” to the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, as both manufacturing and travel activities have decreased dramatically. Some cities in China have imposed a city lockdown or community lockdown.  Since Beijing finally admitted the epidemic outbreak on January 20 and started to take dramatic measures to stop it around January 23, many people have stayed at home and have not returned to work

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Source: Sky.com, March 1, 2020
https://news.sky.com/story/nasa-images-show-coronavirus-shutdown-has-cleared-china-pollution-11946759

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Lack of Action: National Health Commission Delayed 15 Days before Sharing the Coronavirus Information

Caixin reported that, in late December, several institutes in China found that the Wuhan pneumonia was caused by a SARS-like virus, but the National Health Commission didn’t share the information until 15 days later.

On December 27, 2019, Vision Medicals in Guangzhou became the first known company to detect the genome. Around the same time, a few other gene testing companies, including CapitalBio MedLab in Beijing and the industry’s leader Beijing Genomics Institute, had obtained samples from Wuhan Hospitals. Their test results were all reported back to the hospitals and to the Health Commission and to disease control organs.

The National Health Commission, however, did not share the novel coronavirus genome information until January 11. Prior to that, the National Health Commission issued its “No 3 Order” requesting institutes and individuals who had obtained the biological samples to destroy them immediately or to submit them to the officials for storage and not to release any testing information. A staff member from a gene testing company said that the Hubei Provincial Health Commission also gave such an order over the phone.

Caixin is a Beijing-based media group providing financial and business news and information. It was founded in 2010 by Hu Shuli (胡舒立), who was known for her outspoken style.

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Virus Origin: Zhong Nanshan Said Coronavirus May Have Originated Outside China

Zhong Nanshan, a high-profile doctor, the head of the High-level Expert Group of the National Health Commission, and an Academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that, though the Coronavirus epidemic started in China, it may not have originated in China.

Zhong made the statement at a press conference in Guangzhou on February 27, 2020.

Some Chinese netizens challenged Zhong’s logic. One questioned whether he had become the spokesperson for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

At the conference, Zhong also defended the official infection count. When a reporter mentioned a foreign estimate that there were 160,000 infections, Zhong said that China’s estimate of 70,000 infection cases was more accurate. The CCP has reported that there are 78,497 confirmed cases so far.

The authorities arranged for Zhong to go to Wuhan on January 20, 2020, to announce that the coronavirus could transmit from person to person. Afterwards, he predicted a few dates in February when the epidemic would slow down. This turned out to be too optimistic.

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Taiwan Ministry of Justice: Taiwan Has Been Flooded with Fake News from Beijing’s Cyberspace Army

The Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Justice of Taiwan announced on February 26 that inaccurate news reports have been flooding Taiwan’s online social media. The usage of terms suggested that  the cyberspace army from mainland China had created them.

This fake news was packaged with events and supposed statements from politicians in Taiwan. For example, “My father is a Parliament Member from the Democratic Progressive Party. He talked about pneumonia last time and said that Taiwan had over 500 infection cases and 200 deaths. Hualien and Taipei were hit badly, but Tsai Ing-wen’s administration didn’t dare to announce it.”

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Leadership: (Unconfirmed) Two High-Ranking Officials’ Family Members Are Infected

An unconfirmed Internet posting stated that Cai Erjin is the son of Cai Qi (蔡奇), Beijing Communist Party Secretary. Cai Erjin’s lover was infected with the coronavirus and later transmitted it to Cai Erjin and his wife. Cai Qi and his wife have been put under 14 days of quarantine.

An unconfirmed tweet said that Chua Hwa Por, son-in-law of Li Zhanshu (栗战书), Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee, was infected with the coronavirus. Chua was a citizen of Singapore and lived there. Li Zhanshu sent a private plane to bring his son-in-law back to Beijing. Li tried to get him to stay in the military No 301 Hospital, which provides healthcare to the high-ranking officials, but the retired officials who currently stay at the hospital uniformly rejected it. Li then put him in the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, where Cai Qi’s son Cai Erjin also stayed. Xi Jinping was unhappy with bringing a coronavirus patient back to Beijing.

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Death Count: Placing Patient in Corpse Bag While Alive

Taiwan News reported that a video posted on YouTube on February 24 showed a woman in Wuhan, coming out of the hospital. She told the car driver that she saw the patient in the bed next to her was bagged while still alive. He was put into a corpse bag and sent to cremation.

She said, “The man was weak but he was still breathing when the medical workers bound his head and then his hands and feet, which were “still moving.” Then the medical personnel placed the man in a black plastic bag and pulled up the zipper and placed the bag in another plastic bag. The bag was then sent to the funeral house to incinerate.

She said that she saw that a few other patients had also been bagged while still alive.

The Epoch Times also reported that Mr. Tong in Wuhan posted the following on the Internet: “The Doctor asked me to help him carry my father’s dead body. I went into the room and touched his calf. It was still warm. I shouted, ‘Dad.” He opened his eyes and tried to speak. The Doctor was shocked and yelled at me to get out. My dad was then placed naked in the corpse bag. I begged them to put some clothes on him, but they didn’t allow me.”

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Resuming Production: Xi Jinping Said Half of China’s Counties Do Not Have Coronavirus

Radio France International reported that Xi Jinping said that about half of China’s counties do not have the coronavirus. He gave directions that regions with a low epidemic risk should “fully resume production and living orders.”

Some large manufactures in China offered a bonus to attract workers to return to work. Some local governments also used planes, trains, and buses to bring people back to work.

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