There have been six known SARS-1 outbreaks from China: Ex-FDA Commissioner

A patient receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at the temporary COVID-19 vaccination centre in a gymnasium in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, outside Paris, on Monday. Pic/AFP

Amid mounting concerns regarding a renewed probe of the origins of Covid-19 in China, former US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said that accidental lab leaks ‘happen all the time' and there have been six last known outbreaks of SARS-1 from China.

In an interview with US media, Gottlieb expressed concern about safety protocols at research labs in the US and abroad. He said that a conclusive determination on where the pandemic originated was critical to prevent deadly outbreaks in the future, reported Fox News.

"These kinds of lab leaks happen all the time, actually...Even here in the United States, we've had mishaps, and in China, the last six known outbreaks of SARS-1 have been out of labs, including the last known outbreak, which was a pretty extensive outbreak that China initially wouldn't disclose that it came out of a lab," he said.

This comes as calls for a further investigation into the pandemic has intensified in the past few days.

Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that three researchers from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology sought hospital care after they fell ill in November 2019, a month before Beijing reported the first patient with Covid-like symptoms.

The report provides fresh details on the number of researchers affected, the timing of their illnesses, and their hospital visits. The controversy about Covid-19 origins has resurfaced after the Weekend Australian newspaper revealed that Chinese scientists were thinking about bioweapons, visualising a World War-III scenario.

Taiwan on the path of recovery

Taiwan's worst Covid-19 outbreak seems to be easing thanks to the efforts of medical workers, local governments and ordinary citizens, Central Epidemic Control Command chief Chen Shih-chung said on Monday. With a population of 23.6 million, Taiwan has recorded a total of 8,551 Coronavirus infections and 124 fatalities.

UN secy general calls for green growth

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for global partnership to tackle climate change and strive towards inclusive green growth. He made the appeal in a video message at the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 Summit hosted by South Korea on Sunday, reports Xinhua news agency.

‘1 mn HK residents fully inoculated'

About 1 million Hong Kong residents have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 since the city began its inoculation drive against the virus on February 26, according to authorities. As of Sunday, nearly 1.36 million people have taken at least one shot of the Covid-19 vaccine, accounting for 20.7 per cent of the eligible groups in Hong Kong, Xinhua news agency reported citing the authorities as saying.

4,69,996
No. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours

17,04,29,219
Total no. of cases worldwide

35,43,357
Total no. of deaths worldwide

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