White House Requests Investigation into Scientific Origins of New Coronavirus Malicious Rumors

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-gyu Lee] As malicious rumors spread that someone deliberately released the novel coronavirus, the White House has requested experts to investigate the scientific origins of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan Pneumonia).

According to ABC News and others on the 7th, Kelvin Droegemeier, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), sent letters on the 6th (local time) to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS), National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and National Academy of Medicine (NAM) requesting such an investigation. He explained the reason for the request as "to prepare for future outbreaks and to enhance understanding of animal-to-human and environmental transmission of the novel coronavirus."

The institutions that received the request responded to Director Droegemeier by saying, "Given that a public health emergency has been declared and misinformation could hinder the response, this is a timely request," and provided an overview of the research conducted so far.

Regarding suspicions that the novel coronavirus was artificially created or maliciously spread, Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the U.S. National Institutes of Health, said on ABC News, "Researchers are carefully examining whether there is even a slight possibility of that."

Meanwhile, the United States, which has confirmed 12 cases of the novel coronavirus so far, has repatriated 545 of its citizens from Wuhan using two chartered flights and recently banned entry of foreigners who have visited China within the past two weeks.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.