Five years after the first case of Covid-19 was reported, the World Health Organization is still reporting deaths from the virus.
More than 3,000 people have died last month, and more than 7 million have died since the pandemic began.
In the fall of 2019, many of the top stories in US news outlets were related to China.
“I have a good relationship with China. I’m watching what happens, and I’m very happy right now,” President Donald Trump said in trade negotiations with Beijing on November 19, 2019. “If we don’t do business with China, we’ll just make tariffs even higher.”
New Bat Coronavirus discovered in China raises pandemic concerns
The rapid and sustained rise in the US Covid-19 incident has urged millions of people to take precautions in public places. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, file)
On the other side of the globe, Hong Kong protesters were opposed to China’s interference with local governments. Trump has signed a bill in support of democratic demonstrations. Back in Washington, Beabe, the beloved panda of the Smithsonian National Zoo, was preparing to move to a new habitat in central China, but in the background there was a much bigger story taking place.
Also, in the fall of 2019, scientists at the Uhan Virus Institute were studying how mice responded to SARS and MERS-related coronaviruses. The National Intelligence Director report points out that the lab maintains one of the world’s largest repository of bat samples.
“The team will use individually transgenic mouse models to better understand how viruses infect human-associated vaccines and treatment research.”
“The lab that worked on Bat Coronaviruses was very important to understand these viruses, but there were some risks,” said David Relman, professor of microbiology at Stanford.
During that time, several researchers at the institute became ill with cold and flu-like symptoms, but nothing was severe enough to be hospitalized.
“Some of their symptoms were consistent with their diagnosis of Covid-19, but not diagnosed,” the information report said. The intelligence community also said it is unclear whether these diseases are linked to viruses that are spreading worldwide anytime soon.
By December, Chinese stock markets had risen based on their desire to trade contracts with the US, but the local economy in Uhan was facing a major threat. Health officials were concerned about new viral pneumonia that was not responding to standard treatment. Twenty-seven cases were identified, of which seven were important.
Most of the patients had a history of recent exposure to wildlife animals in the Hoanan market, where poultry, snakes, bats and other livestock are sold. Wuhan’s health officials claimed that the wet market was where the virus came out. However, according to an article by Chinese researchers published in Lancet, at least 13 of the first 41 hospitalizations were not market-related.
Daniel Lucy, an infectious disease expert at Georgetown University, told Science in January 2020.
New Bat Coronavirus discovered in China raises pandemic concerns
Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump were trapped in trade deals when Covid-19 hit the world. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
All US intelligence agencies assess both nature and laboratory-related origins. It remains a plausible source of the origin of the virus. The Energy Division, FBI and CIA believe laboratory-related incidents are the most likely cause of first human infections.
“Accidents in the lab occur everywhere there are humans. Humans tend to be false, so it’s absolutely reasonable to think that some other labs have also had an accident,” Relman said.
In late December, the Wuhan Institute of Virology isolated and identified the virus from patient samples. Information available to US intelligence officials indicates that this is the first time lab researchers have access to virus gene sequences.
On the US’s Big Ve Day, Trump rang out in 2020 with the annual Mar-a-Lago party, and was optimistic about negotiations with China.
“We are very excited about trade,” the president said. “At some point, we’re going to Beijing to be with President XI. We have a great relationship. And we do something with each other.”
Uhan scientists were even more concerned about the new virus. Dozens of suspected cases were quarantined at designated hospitals. The World Health Organization has recognized it through a media statement from the Uhan Municipal Health Commission. It warned of an unknown cause of pneumonia.
For the first few days of 2020, life around the world and most of China seemed normal. However, in Wuhan, the Huanan market was closed, and World Health Organization officials were examining the incident in detail.
“There are many unreported cases in China, and many unreported cases in Hong Kong,” Gordon Chan, a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, told Lou Dobbs in January 2020.
Trump’s “Make America Health Again” committee targets autism and chronic diseases
President Donald Trump said his outlook on the possibility of a trade deal with China was once optimistic in 2020 (Donald Trump 2024 Campaign)
What was now called the 2019 novel coronavirus claimed its first casualty before Trump inked the ink into Phase 1 of his trade deal with China.
“Now, our relationship with China is the best we’ve ever had,” Trump said at the signing ceremony.
Incidents from outside China are currently accumulating. Thailand and Japan have confirmed cases of SARS-COV-2. Shortly thereafter, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began screening passengers for direct flights and connected flights from Wuhan.
“The bottom line is, this is a very rare virus. There are very few people infected or exposed,” said Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency room at Lennox Hill Hospital, who said the flight screening would begin.
A few days later, health officials confirmed the first US lawsuit in Washington, but argued that the virus is still a low risk for the public.
“I’m very happy to say he’s in a happy state and is in this moment. It’s very helpful in identifying the specific people he may have been in contact with.”
More cases have begun to accumulate throughout the US and around the world. In Wuhan, 11 million people were placed under lockdown orders.
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“It’s not yet a global health emergency. It could still be one,” said World Health Organization Director Tedros Adhanom Gebrees as Uhan closed the city’s limits.
Before the lockdown officially took place, shoppers competed to gather essentials. The roads, train stations and airports were empty. Other parts of China have also been closed to the public, and Chinese New Year celebrations have been reduced.
Around the world, more countries have implemented travel restrictions from China. Many citizens were evacuated from the country before the virus spread further.
By mid-February, 1,013 people had died from the virus now known as Covid-19. When 774 people died, they officially killed more people than the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak.
The United States is being rated “number one” for its prep for the epidemic, Trump told White House reporters on February 26, 2020.
Italy was the new epicenter of the virus. By mid-March, 114 countries had reported more than 118,000 cases and more than 4,000 deaths.
“We hope to see further rises in the number of cases, deaths and the number of affected countries over the next few days and weeks,” Gebrees said. “We have formed an assessment that Covid-19 can be characterized as a pandemic. Pandemic is not a word that is used lightly or carelessly.”
Bret Baier is currently the Fox News Channel (FNC) anchor and executive editor of Bret Baier’s special report (weekdays 6-7pm/ET), the network’s main political anchor and co-anchor for the network’s election coverage. Baier is also the host of Fox News Audio’s “The Bret Baier Podcast,” which includes Common Ground and All-Star panels. He joined FNC in 1998 as the first reporter for the Atlanta Bureau and is currently based in Washington, D.C.
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