DISINFO: Coronavirus was spread around the world from the US biological laboratories
SUMMARY
The coronavirus was spread from the worldwide US biological laboratories.
RESPONSE
Conspiracy theory with no evidence given. Conspiracy about the 2019-nCoV coronavirus, based on recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about biological weapons and that the hat the outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus is man-made. COVID-19 is not a biological weapon. It comes from a family of viruses originating in animals that include other viruses such as SARS and MERS. It was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in central China and has been rapidly spreading across the world. The number of COVID-19 cases surpassed 300,000 globally with over 14,000 deaths by 23 March 2020. Cases have been reported in 190 countries, territories and areas. Many other claims have been pushed by pro-Kremlin media since the outbreak started in January, for example, that governments overestimate the threat, that it was born in a laboratory to infect Chinese, that it is an element of hybrid warfare and that the remedy has been developed in Ukraine.