[Video] Rare Footage Shows What Is Inside Of A Co.ro.na.vi.rus Lab

A few weeks after troubling footage showing damaged equipment at a virology lab in Wuhan, the former epicenter of the CO.VID-19 outbreak, the Chinese government did something it rarely done before – releasing footage showing the inside of the facility, recorded in February, with a purpose to prove that scientists always comply with safety protocols.

In March, the China Daily, a state-owned news agency, made public photos showing a freezer that stores 1,500 strains of dangerous pathogens, including the Co.ro.na.vi.rus, with a broken seal. The images were later deleted.

The newly released footage, broadcasted by CCTV, shows scientists, in full protective gear, are conducting experiments at the facility.

Zhang Huajun, one of the scientists show the audience how he and his colleges put the protective suits on, pass through five sealed chambers before they are allowed to go into the facility.

According to Zhang, this lab was opened back in 2018 with an investment of $42 million. To prevent leakage of dangerous substance to the outside world, the lab is designed so that air can only go in, not the other way around.

It has three testing rooms and can accommodate 24 scientists, one virus bank, and two animal storage rooms.

On Saturday, the deputy director of the lab, Yuan Zhiming said that there was no way the novel Co.ro.na.vi.rus could be from his facility, claiming it had the P4 biosafety level, the highest.

This denial was made days after some reports claiming that the virus escaped from his facility or another similar one in the Wuhan city. He also denied the belief that the deadly virus was the outcome of a human’s experiment.

Yuan did say that the lab was studying the virus but none of his staff has been infected with it so far.

>>> How 1,500 Viruses Are Stored Inside A Wuhan Lab Where COVID-19 Originated