No interest in Truth (Wuhan lab leak)

Submitted by Battle of Blair... on Sun, 06/06/2021 - 8:20pm

https://consortiumnews.com/2021/06/03/was-there-a-wuhan-lab-leak/

Here we get to the tricky bit. Because nobody in a position to answer that question appears to have any interest in finding out the truth — or at least, they have no interest in the rest of us learning the truth. Not China. Not U.S. policy-makers. Not the World Health Organization. And not the corporate media

One might call it a conspiracy-in-effect since no one actually picks up a phone and conspires but the result is the same and the effect is understood by all.

If the lab leak theory is right, the pandemic’s savior in the U.S. might actually have been one of its chief instigators. And to top it off, senior officials at the WHO have been implicated too, for being closely involved with gain-of-function research through groups like EcoHealth.

Colluding in Deceit

This seems to be the real reason why the lab-leak theory was quashed so aggressively last year by Western political, medical and media establishments without any effort to seriously assess the claims or investigate them. Not out of any sense of obligation towards the truth or concern about racist incitement against the Chinese. It was done out of naked self-interest.

But now, thanks to Nicholas Wade blowing the lid off the Wuhan cover up, scientists scared of being labeled conspiracy theorists are coming forward.

Thus Biden steps in to effect a further lair of cover up.

Plan B: damage limitation. The U.S. president, the medical establishment and the corporate media are raising the possibility of a Wuhan lab leak, but are excluding all the evidence unearthed by Wade and others that would implicate Fauci and the U.S. policy elite in such a leak,

Biden’s “investigation” is really a cynical stall tactic, hoping the publics attention will wane until the next manufactured outrage du jour can take their attention.

What is essential for the political, media and scientific establishments is that we do not ponder deeper questions:

* How is it that the supposedly skeptical, disputatious, raucous media once again spoke mostly with a single and uncritical voice on such a vitally important matter — in this case, for more than a year on the origins of Covid?
* Why was that media consensus broken not by a large, well-resourced media organization, but by a lone, former science writer working independently and publishing in a relatively obscure science magazine?
* Why did the many leading scientists who are now ready to question the imposed narrative of Covid’s animal origin remain silent for so long about the apparently equally credible hypothesis of a lab leak?
* And most importantly, why should we believe that the political, media and scientific establishments have on this occasion any interest in telling us the truth, or in ensuring our welfare, after they have been shown to have repeatedly lied or stayed silent on even graver matters and over much longer periods, such as about the various ecological catastrophes that have been looming since the 1950s?

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Wuhan lab leak

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Submitted by Battle of Blair... on Sun, 06/06/2021 - 11:01pm

As if on cue, over at the Orange Satan

If you read the above article at the link you will see right through the propaganda that is the following diary from TOS:
https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2021/6/6/2033930/-Zoonosis-or-Lab-Leak

If you are loathe to give them the hits, the tl;dr version is "it would be better if we don't find out the truth cuz gain-of-function is good folks and what's a few lab leaks?"
I shit you not.

Submitted by on the cusp on Sun, 06/06/2021 - 11:11pm

I just can't go there, BoB. TOP is CIA.

@Battle of Blair Mountain I read Cook's article last night. Glad you posted the link so everyone will get a big dose of Truth.

—

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Submitted by snoopydawg on Mon, 06/07/2021 - 12:07am

lol...

@Battle of Blair Mountain

The 1st comment is a doozy. Let’s kinda take what the previous guy said, but make it less racist and go with that. This way Biden doesn’t look like he’s continuing Trump’s agenda against China because it was bad then.

'With a bit of the mind flip....'

[video:https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=umj0gu5nEGs]

—

Putin isn’t going to make you homeless or kill you or deny you health care.
Your government will allow it to happen though.

Submitted by snoopydawg on Mon, 06/07/2021 - 12:13am

Let’s hear it for Susan Sarandon

@snoopydawg

35 years ago she and Geena did this epic ending:

[video:https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4z88U915uq8]

—

Putin isn’t going to make you homeless or kill you or deny you health care.
Your government will allow it to happen though.

Submitted by snoopydawg on Mon, 06/07/2021 - 10:42am

It was found elsewhere a year or more before Wuhan

Waiting for peer review:

Pre-print

Most COVID-19 cases show mild influenza-like symptoms (14) and it has been suggested that some uncharacterized influenza cases may have masked COVID-19 cases in the 2019-2020 season (11). This possibility prompted us to analyze some archival WWTP samples from January 2018 to December 2019 (Figure 2). All samples came out to be negative for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genomes with the exception of March 12, 2019, in which both IP2 and IP4 target assays were positive.

.....
SARS-CoV-2 was detected in Barcelona sewage long before the declaration of the first COVID-19 case, indicating that the infection was present in the population before the first imported case was reported. Sentinel surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater would enable adoption of immediate measures in the event of future COVID-19 waves.

This striking finding indicates circulation of the virus in Barcelona long before the report of any COVID-19 case worldwide. Barcelona is a business and commerce hub, as well as a popular venue for massive events, gathering visitors from many parts of the world. It is nevertheless likely that similar situations may have occurred in several other parts of the world, with circulation of unnoticed COVID-19 cases in the community.

Darn good question:

* And most importantly, why should we believe that the political, media and scientific establishments have on this occasion any interest in telling us the truth, or in ensuring our welfare, after they have been shown to have repeatedly lied or stayed silent on even graver matters and over much longer periods, such as about the various ecological catastrophes that have been looming since the 1950s?

They told us for a year that it wasn’t true...but all of a sudden it is? Not buying it. There are reports that it was in Italy as early as September if not earlier. When someone says that it’s pretty sure that Covid escaped from the lab in Wuhan I say they are pushing an agenda because no one knows if it even came from there. Russia isn’t the only country asking about our labs everywhere except apparently here in the states. I also know that there is an agenda against China right now and they are being accused of our actual crimes. I know that big pharma puts profits over people’s lives so they too are pushing an agenda that I doubt I’d like. Besides didn’t NY virus come from Europe? The west coast from China? How about the troops in the middle of the country getting sick in October?

Dunno. Neither do they. Unless they do. Beats me. BTW...what about the plans for the event before the event happened? Too many inconsistencies and questions. The government was caught off guard by the epidemic and so none of the supplies for one were available right off..nor 6 months later...nor now if it suits the plan. Farmers dumped billions of pounds of produce because the supply chain broke down because the government hadn’t planned for that either. And lo and behold it still ~~are~~ is and prices for everything are skyrocketing because reasons and 11 million people face eviction in less than 30 days and the Koch are just waiting to buy their homes for pennies on the dollar after congress gave them a boatload of money. Shall I just stop here? I could go on...

edited: got lost in time space in my head so fixed it.

—

Putin isn’t going to make you homeless or kill you or deny you health care.
Your government will allow it to happen though.

Submitted by on the cusp on Mon, 06/07/2021 - 12:19am

Oh, come on...

@snoopydawg keep going...and don't forget to mention Gates' practice pandemic response that was just before the pandemic...

Waiting for peer review:

Pre-print

Most COVID-19 cases show mild influenza-like symptoms (14) and it has been suggested that some uncharacterized influenza cases may have masked COVID-19 cases in the 2019-2020 season (11). This possibility prompted us to analyze some archival WWTP samples from January 2018 to December 2019 (Figure 2). All samples came out to be negative for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genomes with the exception of March 12, 2019, in which both IP2 and IP4 target assays were positive.

.....
SARS-CoV-2 was detected in Barcelona sewage long before the declaration of the first COVID-19 case, indicating that the infection was present in the population before the first imported case was reported. Sentinel surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater would enable adoption of immediate measures in the event of future COVID-19 waves.

This striking finding indicates circulation of the virus in Barcelona long before the report of any COVID-19 case worldwide. Barcelona is a business and commerce hub, as well as a popular venue for massive events, gathering visitors from many parts of the world. It is nevertheless likely that similar situations may have occurred in several other parts of the world, with circulation of unnoticed COVID-19 cases in the community.

Darn good question:

* And most importantly, why should we believe that the political, media and scientific establishments have on this occasion any interest in telling us the truth, or in ensuring our welfare, after they have been shown to have repeatedly lied or stayed silent on even graver matters and over much longer periods, such as about the various ecological catastrophes that have been looming since the 1950s?

They told us for a year that it wasn’t true...but all of a sudden it is? Not buying it. There are reports that it was in Italy as early as September if not earlier. When someone says that it’s pretty sure that Covid escaped from the lab in Wuhan I say they are pushing an agenda because no one knows if it even came from there. Russia isn’t the only country asking about our labs everywhere except apparently here in the states. I also know that there is an agenda against China right now and they are being accused of our actual crimes. I know that big pharma puts profits over people’s lives so they too are pushing an agenda that I doubt I’d like. Besides didn’t NY virus come from Europe? The west coast from China? How about the troops in the middle of the country getting sick in October?

Dunno. Neither do they. Unless they do. Beats me. BTW...what about the plans for the event before the event happened? Too many inconsistencies and questions. The government was caught off guard by the epidemic and so none of the supplies for one were available right off..nor 6 months later...nor now if it suits the plan. Farmers dumped billions of pounds of produce because the supply chain broke down because the government hadn’t planned for that either. And lo and behold it still ~~are~~ is and prices for everything are skyrocketing because reasons and 11 million people face eviction in less than 30 days and the Koch are just waiting to buy their homes for pennies on the dollar after congress gave them a boatload of money. Shall I just stop here? I could go on...

edited: got lost in time space in my head so fixed it.

—

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Submitted by snoopydawg on Mon, 06/07/2021 - 12:32am

Ahem...

@on the cusp

BTW...what about the plans for the event before the event happened?

—

Putin isn’t going to make you homeless or kill you or deny you health care.
Your government will allow it to happen though.

Submitted by Battle of Blair... on Mon, 06/07/2021 - 1:54am

Not following you Snoop

@snoopydawg what does no one having planned for any of this have to do with covering up an accidental leak? Be it originally from Wuhan or anywhere?
Considering that Shi admitted to doing much of the research in a level 2 lab (think dentist office) itcould have gotten leaked, or forms of it, multiple times.

Waiting for peer review:

Pre-print

Most COVID-19 cases show mild influenza-like symptoms (14) and it has been suggested that some uncharacterized influenza cases may have masked COVID-19 cases in the 2019-2020 season (11). This possibility prompted us to analyze some archival WWTP samples from January 2018 to December 2019 (Figure 2). All samples came out to be negative for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genomes with the exception of March 12, 2019, in which both IP2 and IP4 target assays were positive.

.....
SARS-CoV-2 was detected in Barcelona sewage long before the declaration of the first COVID-19 case, indicating that the infection was present in the population before the first imported case was reported. Sentinel surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater would enable adoption of immediate measures in the event of future COVID-19 waves.

This striking finding indicates circulation of the virus in Barcelona long before the report of any COVID-19 case worldwide. Barcelona is a business and commerce hub, as well as a popular venue for massive events, gathering visitors from many parts of the world. It is nevertheless likely that similar situations may have occurred in several other parts of the world, with circulation of unnoticed COVID-19 cases in the community.

Darn good question:

* And most importantly, why should we believe that the political, media and scientific establishments have on this occasion any interest in telling us the truth, or in ensuring our welfare, after they have been shown to have repeatedly lied or stayed silent on even graver matters and over much longer periods, such as about the various ecological catastrophes that have been looming since the 1950s?

They told us for a year that it wasn’t true...but all of a sudden it is? Not buying it. There are reports that it was in Italy as early as September if not earlier. When someone says that it’s pretty sure that Covid escaped from the lab in Wuhan I say they are pushing an agenda because no one knows if it even came from there. Russia isn’t the only country asking about our labs everywhere except apparently here in the states. I also know that there is an agenda against China right now and they are being accused of our actual crimes. I know that big pharma puts profits over people’s lives so they too are pushing an agenda that I doubt I’d like. Besides didn’t NY virus come from Europe? The west coast from China? How about the troops in the middle of the country getting sick in October?

Dunno. Neither do they. Unless they do. Beats me. BTW...what about the plans for the event before the event happened? Too many inconsistencies and questions. The government was caught off guard by the epidemic and so none of the supplies for one were available right off..nor 6 months later...nor now if it suits the plan. Farmers dumped billions of pounds of produce because the supply chain broke down because the government hadn’t planned for that either. And lo and behold it still ~~are~~ is and prices for everything are skyrocketing because reasons and 11 million people face eviction in less than 30 days and the Koch are just waiting to buy their homes for pennies on the dollar after congress gave them a boatload of money. Shall I just stop here? I could go on...

edited: got lost in time space in my head so fixed it.

Submitted by snoopydawg on Mon, 06/07/2021 - 10:56am

Lots of snark in my comment

@Battle of Blair Mountain

sorry if it didn't come thru. Look at the 1st link that suggests that it was found elsewhere before the Wuhan outbreak. No one has decided that the virus has been manipulated by hand to release from 'a lab' anywhere in the world, but especially that IT ESCAPED from the lab in Wuhan. After a year of that being shot down we are now supposed to believe that it was true all along, but because Trump said it it wasn't true..?

How about the PTB rolling out the old guns that have already run the WMDs scam on us? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

Condoleezza Rice: Dismissing Coronavirus Lab Leak Theory Was ‘A Mistake’

Rice, who served as national security adviser during the SARS outbreak in 2003, said one early red flag was that U.S. officials had previously called safety practices “substandard” at a lab studying coronaviruses in bats in Wuhan, China.

So one of our partner's labs is running below safety practices and has been for long years, but no one thought to enhance it just so this DIDN"T happen? Or waiting for an excuse to blame them.

Ahh..

State Department diplomats inspected the lab in 2018 and, according to cables obtained by a Washington Post columnist, there were concerns raised about the “risk of a new SARS-like pandemic” emerging due to inadequate safety measures at the lab. (Is that a new name for anonymous sources?)

Rice also noted that in November 2019, before China reported the first COVID-19 cases, the country had patients with “suspicious symptoms.”

Buy a mirror, Condi and take a good peak at the 'suspicious symptoms" that were reported here in young people during the spring of 2019 that sounds suspiciously like Covid Lung which mysteriously disappeared just before the Rona outbreak happened. Yeah color me cynical....hey they supplied the party bus, I just took the ride when it came along. They have made people question whether the sun still rises in the east because if Putin could he'd damn sure make it rise in the west just to piss us off.

Notice how all of a sudden one of the most hated admins in history until Trump is being rolled out to set an agenda.

Condoleeza Rice on Chinese cooperation with investigation into COVID origins: “Given what we experienced with SARS and with avian flu as well in the early 2000s, I don't think it was worth trusting that the Chinese were being transparent about what was going on there.”

That is a tweet if anyone want to follow it.

Rice additionally expressed concern about the World Health Organization’s close partnership with China during their joint investigation into the spread of the virus. The WHO released the results of the study, conducted with China, on the origins of the virus in March. The report has been criticized by 13 countries, including the U.S.

“We perhaps didn’t say enough about the problems about the WHO going in and allowing the Chinese to control the territory while they were trying to investigate,” she said.

Rice recommended that the U.S. act more aggressively with China on such matters going forward.

“Given what we experienced with SARS and, by the way, avian flu as well in the early 2000s, I don’t think it was worth trusting that the Chinese were being transparent about what was going on there,” she said. “I think we made a mistake earlier on and many people, many officials dismissed this possibility.”

So 20 years later and a year after the Rona 'escaped' from Wuhan it is now time to express our fears? How come we skipped both Trump and Obama SOS huh? Why aren't they trotting out HerHeinous or Kerry, or even Pompeo to scare the beejebus out of us? Condi? Are you kidding? No one could have imagines planes hitting buildings" except that it was written out in OPERATION NORTHWOOD for us all to see why it was AtH. Allowed to Happen....gotta get that war of terror going for 20 years before it is the war of terror against us here at home as planned and as happening now and here we are returning to Obama's pivot to Asia. Think Her would be the best spokeswoman for the job since lots of people still love her. Guess it depends on WHO The target is......aha Trump supporters. Gottit.

The ending has a twist to it:

As early as January 2020, conservative commentators and politicians began to suggest that the emergence of COVID-19 wasn’t natural. After the outbreak was declared a pandemic that March, Trump — who is a fan of bolstering conspiracy theories — began repeating such chatter.

The same day that Trump suggested at a press conference in April 2020 that he had personally seen evidence that the virus originated from a lab in Wuhan, U.S. intelligence agencies released a statement saying “that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified.”

Scientists and researchers also disputed the lab leak theory, arguing that the molecular structure of SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — rules out the possibility that it was created in a lab.

Are reeducation camps coming for those who are skeptical of the whole damn plot? Who knows? If this guy got his way they would be.

I suggest a hip-hop, country, disco, K-pop anthem titled “Save the World.”

During recording breaks, each musical celebrity can tape a public service announcement shooting down the insane vaccine misinformation that has risen from the same political cesspool that spawned President Donald Trump.

He got one thing right:

that has risen from the same political cesspool that spawned President Donald Trump.

Lots of snark because I am pissed off at the yo-yo expectations we are supposed to follow. China is great according to Trump for cracking down as they did. But now it's suspicious cuz Condi says it should be? Will Obama come out next or are they holding him in reserve? What is the truth? How to find it? Will it even matter if we do?

—

Putin isn’t going to make you homeless or kill you or deny you health care.
Your government will allow it to happen though.

Submitted by Lookout on Mon, 06/07/2021 - 6:57am

That's my big question too

@snoopydawg

How could it be in Spain 9 months before the leak?

John Campbell suggest it may have to do with viral load. Early 2019 infection were asymptomatic with poor viral replication and therefore little spread.

There were cases of symptomatic "severe" pnuemonia in the late summer of 2019 that may have actually been COVID. I think one of our members at c99 (GLS?) was in South Asia in Oct or Nov of 2019 and caught a flu very similar to COVID symptoms.

There' a great deal we need to investigate, but where are the honest brokers? Does anyone else find if curious that Biden is having the CIA investigate the leak hypothesis rather than say virologists?

Chris Martenson continues to suspect the Wuhan leak, but as pluto's republic reminded me we have gain of function virus lab all around the world. WTF are we doing?

Waiting for peer review:

Pre-print

Most COVID-19 cases show mild influenza-like symptoms (14) and it has been suggested that some uncharacterized influenza cases may have masked COVID-19 cases in the 2019-2020 season (11). This possibility prompted us to analyze some archival WWTP samples from January 2018 to December 2019 (Figure 2). All samples came out to be negative for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genomes with the exception of March 12, 2019, in which both IP2 and IP4 target assays were positive.

.....
SARS-CoV-2 was detected in Barcelona sewage long before the declaration of the first COVID-19 case, indicating that the infection was present in the population before the first imported case was reported. Sentinel surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater would enable adoption of immediate measures in the event of future COVID-19 waves.

This striking finding indicates circulation of the virus in Barcelona long before the report of any COVID-19 case worldwide. Barcelona is a business and commerce hub, as well as a popular venue for massive events, gathering visitors from many parts of the world. It is nevertheless likely that similar situations may have occurred in several other parts of the world, with circulation of unnoticed COVID-19 cases in the community.

Darn good question:

* And most importantly, why should we believe that the political, media and scientific establishments have on this occasion any interest in telling us the truth, or in ensuring our welfare, after they have been shown to have repeatedly lied or stayed silent on even graver matters and over much longer periods, such as about the various ecological catastrophes that have been looming since the 1950s?

They told us for a year that it wasn’t true...but all of a sudden it is? Not buying it. There are reports that it was in Italy as early as September if not earlier. When someone says that it’s pretty sure that Covid escaped from the lab in Wuhan I say they are pushing an agenda because no one knows if it even came from there. Russia isn’t the only country asking about our labs everywhere except apparently here in the states. I also know that there is an agenda against China right now and they are being accused of our actual crimes. I know that big pharma puts profits over people’s lives so they too are pushing an agenda that I doubt I’d like. Besides didn’t NY virus come from Europe? The west coast from China? How about the troops in the middle of the country getting sick in October?

Dunno. Neither do they. Unless they do. Beats me. BTW...what about the plans for the event before the event happened? Too many inconsistencies and questions. The government was caught off guard by the epidemic and so none of the supplies for one were available right off..nor 6 months later...nor now if it suits the plan. Farmers dumped billions of pounds of produce because the supply chain broke down because the government hadn’t planned for that either. And lo and behold it still ~~are~~ is and prices for everything are skyrocketing because reasons and 11 million people face eviction in less than 30 days and the Koch are just waiting to buy their homes for pennies on the dollar after congress gave them a boatload of money. Shall I just stop here? I could go on...

edited: got lost in time space in my head so fixed it.

—

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Submitted by MinuteMan on Mon, 06/07/2021 - 10:36am

Collection first

@Lookout

Does anyone else find if curious that Biden is having the CIA investigate the leak hypothesis rather than say virologists?

If the investigation is going to occur without the cooperation of the Chinese government then information gathering might require intelligence techniques; then the information collected could be analyzed by virologists.

Submitted by ovals49 on Mon, 06/07/2021 - 11:45am

You assume intelligence will pass along info unmolested?

@MinuteMan
That would be very much out of keeping with CIA history, starting on day one.

Finding trustworthy data is going to be most problematic, regardless of the source(s).

—

“ …and when we destroy nature, we diminish our capacity to sense the divine,and understand who God is, and what our own potential is and duties are as human beings.- RFK jr. 8/26/2024

Submitted by Battle of Blair... on Mon, 06/07/2021 - 1:50am

I could care less where it leaked from.

That changes nothing. All you've provided is possible proof it escaped from some other lab.
All the more reason to cover it up.

Submitted by ovals49 on Mon, 06/07/2021 - 6:32am

Here’s a link to the Nicholas Wade piece you mentioned

The Nicholas Wade piece, Origin of COVID - Following the Clues, is a powerful piece by a career science writer that truly “blew the lid off” the suppressed notion that COVID-19 may well have its origins in a bio ~~weapons~~ lab, with the supposed zoonotic links not as yet specified. Whether the lab was in Wuhan or elsewhere is of relatively little import, except for its role as a political cudgel with which to smear our enemy du jour.

This article is probably “too long” for Fauci and many others, but presents an intelligent and well written exploration of possibilities and probabilities. Draw your own conclusions, but please read it through before you do.

—

“ …and when we destroy nature, we diminish our capacity to sense the divine,and understand who God is, and what our own potential is and duties are as human beings.- RFK jr. 8/26/2024

Submitted by Battle of Blair... on Mon, 06/07/2021 - 3:02pm

I have since been informed this morning

@ovals49 that Wade is a psuedo-science racist piece of shit who peddles blacks have lowr IQ's and a host of other bs.

I will not be linking to his writing nor any sources that in turn were taken in by him.

Submitted by studentofearth on Mon, 06/07/2021 - 1:53pm

Lab origination opens up the possibility of several scenarios

The complete development line of control of Covid-19 pathogen needs to be identified, development stages at each lab site around the world identified and investigation of infection clusters of unknown causes prior to December 2020, in addition to Covid clusters of various mutations.

The Wuhan lab link theory appears to assume a jump from small volume of virus in a petri dish or test tube to lab worker then to general public. No animal vector involved except general collection of a bat coronaviris for testing and possible gain of function research using technology and not the older method of using multiple generations in infected animal and human cells.

So, what are gain-of-function studies? Although the term is sometimes used broadly to refer to “gain-of-function” studies of proteins, in medical terms, it is associated with research on viruses. The goal of gain-of-function research is to create a virus with new properties that make it more pathogenic or more transmissible to humans.

Traditionally, this type of change focused on the growing the virus in animal or human cells. Recently, there have been important advances in animal models and in molecular biology techniques to make precise, targeted changes to viral genes. This process can lead to the rapid generation of new viruses (as opposed to the natural evolution of viruses, which takes several years) that are better adapted to humans, possibly changing their virulence and their ability to be transmitted between humans

No wild or domestic animal vector has been identified in China as involved in the spread of Covid to humans. Europe's first public announcement of transmission from mink population to humans was over a year ago on May 20, 2020.

Then, on May 20 the Dutch Agriculture Minister told parliament that a worker on a farm where mink are bred to export their fur contracted the coronavirus from the animals.

Carola Schouten admitted that earlier advisories from her office that people could infect animals, but not the other way around, was wrong.

And today government and health authorities said a second person had contracted the bug after being in contact with an infected mink.

Schouten repeated that the country’s health department believes the risk of animal-to-human transmission of the virus outside the farms on which they are kept is “negligible".

Mink carrying the virus have now been diagnosed on four of the 155 farms in the country, she said.

Infected mink on farms in the US was first noticed in Utah last year in July.

The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) said that humans working on the farm that were infected with COVID-19 in July likely transferred the virus to the animals — there are no signs that the mink infected any workers. Still, the USDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have issued guidelines for farmers handling mink and other mustelids.

"The research done in Utah still supports that the disease has spread from humans to mink and that the risk of the opposite transmission is very low," the UDAF spokesperson told CBS News. "We still recommend PPE for all mink workers as a safeguard to themselves and the mink."

The UDAF said they are not aware of how many mink total are infected in Utah. Testing all of them is "not feasible" due to the large number of mink in the state, the spokesperson said.

Officials said that fur from the dead, infected mink is still being used commercially. Fur Commission USA told AP that the fur is processed to eliminate all traces of the virus before it is used for clothing.

There are over 250 mink farms in the United States located in 23 states. Wisconsin, the biggest player, produces about a million pelts a year. Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Minnesota are close behind. Wisconsin prioritized vaccines for mink farm workers in January 2021

Mink farmers, a small sliver of the Wisconsin population, are set to be among those offered the COVID-19 vaccine next — a choice that might seem surprising.

Teachers, food chain workers, public transit employees, 911 dispatchers and prisoners and corrections workers are the other Wisconsin residents among roughly 1.6 million who are tentatively expected to get their shots beginning March 1, according to guidelines released Tuesday from the state Department of Health Services.

Meanwhile, the state is still pushing to deliver vaccines to health care workers, assisted living staff and residents, police and firefighters, and people over 65.

In November last year there was indication transmission from mink and possible mutations was a growing concern in Denmark.

News that the coronavirus has crossed from humans into mink, mutated and then jumped back again has generated understandable concern.

Officially, 12 people have been infected at farms so far, mostly in northern Denmark, but the Danish health minister has admitted that up to half of the 783 human Covid cases in the region may be mink-related. This implies that the mutated virus is spreading from person to person, but how worried should we be?

Published peer reviewed article last month identified infected feral American minks in Europe.

Wastewater, possible cause of contagion

Even though the source of the infection in these animals cannot be established with absolute certainty, the CEU UCH researchers suggest the most probable cause was these feral American minks coming into contact with contaminated wastewater in the rivers they inhabit, the course of the Mijares and Palancia rivers, which are separated by the Espadán mountain range. "These animals were caught on 14 and 28 January, dates that coincide with the third wave of the virus and whose incidence was especially high in the Valencian Community. This could explain the contagion of the feral mink," notes professor Aguiló.
...
The study suggests for the first time the possible indirect transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to feral fauna, without coming into contact with human beings. This could entail that species that are susceptible to the infection, such as American mink, act as SARS-CoV-2 reservoirs, transmitting it to other animal species and to humans. Thus, the CEU UCH researchers and authors of the study underline the need for a One Health approach, taking into account the interconnection of human, animal and environmental health to prevent the transmission of the virus not only among humans, but also to feral animals.

Perhaps China's medical system was an early identifier of a new infection due to their history of SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome)infections, experiments in Unit 731 by the Japanese and use of biological weapons on Chinese troops in the Korean War by the United States.

—

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.