China realizó un pedido masivo de pruebas de PCR meses antes del primer caso oficial de COVID.
Meses antes de los primeros informes oficiales de un nuevo coronavirus en Wuhan, China, los funcionarios de la provincia de Hubei realizaron un pedido masivo de pruebas de PCR, según Nikkei , citando un informe de investigadores, incluidos exoficiales de inteligencia, en los EE. UU., El Reino Unido y Australia. .
Los registros de un sitio web que agregan contratos de adquisiciones del sector público revelan que se gastaron aproximadamente 67,4 millones de yuanes (10,5 millones de dólares estadounidenses a las tasas actuales) en las pruebas de reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (PCR) a partir de mayo de 2019, casi el doble del total de 2018 .
“Monthly procurement data shows a spike in orders in May, especially from CDC buyers and the People’s Liberation Army,” according to the report.
The report casts further doubt on China’s official line about the origins of the virus, a topic that has fueled tensions between Beijing and Washington.
PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, tests are used to detect the presence of a particular genetic sequence in a sample, and they have applications beyond COVID-19 testing. But the report alleges the unusual uptick likely signals awareness of a new disease spreading in the Wuhan area.
Orders doubled from universities, jumped fivefold from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and surged tenfold from animal testing bureaus. Purchases from hospitals declined by more than 10%. -Nikkei
“We believe the increased spending in May suggests this as the earliest start date for possible infection,” the report concludes.
Purchases also soared between July and October as well – especially from the Wuhan University of Science and Technology, which spent 8.92 million yuan in 2019, an eight-fold increase over 2018.
The researchers note that the university, along with local hospitals and public health authorities, are the primary responders to outbreaks of new diseases – and that the involvement of these groups is evidence that “the increase of purchasing was most likely linked to the emergence of COVID-19 in Hubei Province in 2019.”
“We assess with high confidence that the pandemic began much earlier than China informed the [World Health Organization] about COVID-19.”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), China told them that the first symptomatic case was recorded on Dec. 8, 2019 – however US intelligence and other agencies and researchers have alleged that the virus was circulating much earlier.
“We can’t say for sure with just” the public procurement information, said Akira Igata, a visiting professor at Tama Graduate School of Business in Tokyo who examined that data independently, “but it’s strong information for making the case that there was awareness of a virus outbreak around Wuhan several months to half a year before that December.“
“This report could provide an opportunity for countries to press China for information again,” Igata said. -Nikkei
Nikkei también señala que las imágenes satelitales de los estacionamientos del hospital de Wuhan revelan un “ fuerte aumento en la actividad a partir de agosto de 2019 ”.
El nuevo informe arroja más dudas sobre la narrativa oficial de China desde Beijing, que ha sido todo menos comunicativa sobre sus actividades en Wuhan.
“No se han compartido datos utilizables de China sobre cómo y cuándo comenzó COVID-19”, dijo David Robinson, autor del informe. “La transparencia cero ha alimentado muchas hipótesis, teorías, desinformación y el dolor de las víctimas”.