Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Xiang Libin, said labs will be used to enhance its technological capacity against future infectious diseases
People stand separated for their turn to be inoculated against Covid-19 at the Chaoyang Museum of Urban Planning in Beijing. Pic/AFP
China has operationalised its new biosecurity law to fortify the legal cover for the establishment and safe operation of more bio labs in the country. This report comes amid questions whether the COVID-19 originated from such a laboratory in Wuhan.
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The novel Coronavirus emerged at China’s central Wuhan city in December 2019 and became a pandemic, upending life across the globe. Under the new Biosecurity Law, China will continue to build more labs specialising in advanced pathogenic microbiology with a scrupulous and scientific manner, the country’s Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Xiang Libin said.
China will carry out major scientific research to enhance its biosecurity science, said Xiang. The ministry has examined and approved the construction of three biosafety level-4 labs, or P4 labs, and 88 biosafety level-3 labs, or P3 labs, in China, he said. A biosafety level (BSL), or pathogen/protection level, is a set of biocontainment precautions required to isolate dangerous biological agents in an enclosed laboratory facility.
Bai Chunli, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said in April last year that China had two P4 labs besides 81 P3 labs in operation. In contrast, the US has 12 P4 and 1,500 P3 labs. Bio labs acquired significance as the US has alleged that COVID-19 may have emanated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), which is a P-4 bio lab.
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14,06,43,165
TOTAL Number OF CORONAVIRUS
CASES IN THE WORLD
30,15,001
Number OF DEATHS WORLDWIDE
11,94,68,712
Number OF RECOVERED PATIENTS
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