Journalists claim Wuhan lab researchers were ‘Patients Zero’ for COVID gain-of-function.

Investigation Reveals First COVID-19 Patients Were Lab Researchers

Three journalists have uncovered startling information about the origin of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. According to their report, the first three individuals to contract the virus were actually lab researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).

The report, compiled by Michael Shellenberger, Matt Taibbi, and Alex Gutentag, identifies researchers Ben Hu, Yu Ping, and Yan Zhu as the initial patients, citing anonymous U.S. government officials involved in the origin investigation.

“According to multiple U.S. government officials interviewed as part of a lengthy investigation by Public and Racket, the first people infected by the virus, ‘patients zero,’ included Ben Hu, a researcher who led the WIV’s ‘gain-of-function’ research on SARS-like coronaviruses, which increases the infectiousness of viruses,” the report states.

Ben Hu worked closely with Shi Zhengli, also known as “the bat woman of China,” who led the gain-of-function research at the WIV. Alina Chan, a molecular biologist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, expressed concern about Hu’s involvement, stating, “He was her star pupil. He had been making chimeric SARS-like viruses and testing these in humanized mice. If I had to guess who would be doing this risky virus research and most at risk of getting accidentally infected, it would be him,” Chan told the journalists.

Matt Taibbi also reported that the Directorate of National Intelligence is expected to release once-classified material on the virus’ origin later this month, potentially revealing the names of the three researchers.

Earlier this year, President Joe Biden signed a bill calling for the disclosure of the names and roles of the sick researchers at the WIV, along with their symptoms, date of symptom onset, and any involvement or exposure to coronavirus research.

In March, the U.S. Energy Department concluded that the COVID virus likely leaked from the Wuhan lab, elevating the once-conspiracy theory and providing validation to those who had questioned the virus’s origin.

However, a new report suggests that U.S. investigators suspect COVID may have been the result of Chinese military bioweapon research.

State Department investigators, while examining the origins of COVID, have expressed significant suspicion regarding the People’s Liberation Army’s involvement at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). According to The Times, the Chinese military collaborated with the lab in experimenting with viruses after the lab achieved some success in mutating pathogens.

The Times quoted an anonymous State Department official who stated, “It has become increasingly clear that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was involved in the creation, promulgation, and cover-up of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

These new reports contradict the doubts expressed by Dr. Anthony Fauci just this past February, when he stated that there is no consensus on the origin of the virus and concluded, “We may never know” its source.

“I don’t see any data for a lab leak. That doesn’t mean it couldn’t have happened,” Fauci said at the time.

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.