This aerial view shows the P4 laboratory (C) on the campus of the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on May 27, 2020. - Opened in 2018, the P4 lab conducts research on the world's most dangerous diseases and has been accused by some top US officials of being the source of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
In a rare interview with The New York Times, Wuhan virologist Dr. Shi Zhengli denied claims that the Covid-19 virus originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
"My lab has never conducted or cooperated in conducting gain-of-function experiments that enhance the virulence of viruses," she told The Times. Experts in the international community have struggled to gain transparent access to the lab, in order to determine the coronavirus' origin.
Dr. Zhengli said that claims that the lab bolstered the virus and kept information about it's spread under wraps are "speculation rooted in utter distrust."
"I'm sure that I did nothing wrong," she told the Times. "So I have nothing to fear."
