British Prime Minister Boris Johnson explains the situation of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) in the UK. [연합뉴스]
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (photo) has pointed out the’pangolin’ as the origin of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19). China, the largest demand for pangolins, refuted, saying that it was a “guess without evidence”.
According to the UK Daily Mail on the 13th (local time), Prime Minister Johnson mentioned this in a speech at the’One Earth Summit’ online event hosted by French President Immanuel Macron on the 11th.
He said about Corona 19, “We must not forget that the Corona 19 pandemic is the product of an imbalance between nature and humans.” “Like the first plague that hit the ancient Greeks, Corona 19 was also a virus that originated from wild animals,” he said.
Although Prime Minister Johnson did not mention China directly, considering that China is the largest consumer of pangolins, it can be interpreted as targeting China. In particular, the hypothesis that the Corona 19 virus originated from bats in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China from the outbreak of the pandemic and spread to humans through wild animal hosts such as pangolins has gained strength.
![A pangolin, an endangered species, designated by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as an intermediate carrier of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19). [사진 위키피디아]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/202101/14/49b92d11-6ce9-4881-bbad-903eac15e282.jpg?w=900&ssl=1)
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A pangolin, an endangered species, designated by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as an intermediate carrier of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19). [사진 위키피디아]
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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Li Zhen criticized this as “unfounded speculation or exaggerated debate hampers international cooperation to uncover the origins of Corona 19.” Spokesman Hwa Chun-ying also criticized that “the origin of Corona 19 must be approached scientifically,” and “excessive speculation and speculation will only cause division of the international community.”
China has so far held the position that Wuhan, in Hubei Province, was the first place where Corona 19 was discovered, not the place where it originated.
Meanwhile, according to Johns Hopkins University, since Corona 19 was reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 31, 2019, the number of confirmed cases worldwide has exceeded 90 million. The death toll is approaching 2 million.
Reporter Dayoung Kim [email protected]
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