Manipulated

The story of the origins of the COVID-19 virus (scientific designation, SARS-CoV-2) may never be fully revealed. Part of the reason is that if (and it's a big if)  the origins of the virus are not natural and can be traced to a Chinese virology lab, some will demand consequences. But we're talking about consequences levied against the second most powerful country on the planet, and the last thing the world needs right now is more upheaval. So elites on both sides of the political spectrum would prefer to look the other way. And that only "conspiracy theorists"  suggest that the origins of SARS-CoV-2 can be traced to a bioweapons laboratory in Wuhan, China.

In the United States members of Team Apocalypse have other motives for keeping the focus away from China. Catastrophists on the Team, along with their trained hamsters in the media, need the narrative to lead to the electoral defeat of Donald Trump in November. For that reason, any blockbuster news that might take focus off that narrative must be suppressed. 

When early conjecture that COVID-19 might be more than a naturally occurring virus originating from bats began to surface, Team Apocalypse scrambled to reference the media's all-knowing medical oracle, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who told us that SARS-CoV-2 was naturally occurring virus. Because he is all-knowing, Fauci was able to state this BEFORE any scientific investigation into the origins of SARS-CoV-2 was conducted. He argued that there was no chance that it originated in a Chinese laboratory and was accidentally released into the population in Wuhan. As the true believers often say—that means "the debate is over."

Unfortunately for them, that's not how science works. Researchers around the world are dissecting the genetic footprint of SARS-CoV-2, and some of their findings are unsettling. In a lengthy report, Bill Gertz relates the findings of two scientific teams, one in Australia and another in India. In both cases, these teams have found suspicious indications that the SARS-CoV-2 was manipulated by human actors:

A forthcoming Australian scientific study concludes that the coronavirus causing the global pandemic contains unique properties suggesting it was manipulated in a Chinese laboratory and was not the result of a natural occurrence.

Five scientists who conducted the study discovered an unusual ability of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as the pathogen behind COVID-19 is called, to easily infect humans.

The scientists said there is no sign so far that the virus can be found in other animals, including bats or the exotic wildlife sold for fresh meat at a market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus was first identified and where China maintains a major laboratory studying such viruses.

It's very important to note that these findings are NOT definitive and that further investigation and/or peer review may find flaws in the researchers' approach or logic. However, the preliminary findings are concerning. Even worse, they are not unique. Gertz reports:

The Australian study is the second scientific paper to suggest laboratory manipulation played a part.

A group of Indian scientists published a paper on Jan. 31 that found the new coronavirus contained four insertions to the spike protein that are unique to SARS-CoV-2 and not found in other coronaviruses. The features, they said, are similar to those found in the virus known as HIV.

Those scientists concluded that similar structures are “unlikely to be fortuitous in nature.”

The Indian paper was withdrawn under pressure from China, but the scientists involved refused to repudiate their research and promised to publish their findings eventually.

Since this research occurred outside the United States, it will be difficult for members of Team Apocalypse to dismiss it as "a political distraction." And because the Democrat members of the Team have worked hard to imply that the COVID-19 is Donald Trump's fault (if only he had planned better, or responded faster, or tested more), the last thing they want is breaking news that detracts from their narrative. So they'll dismiss Gertz's report as "racist" or a "conspiracy theory" and continue their partisan drum beat to keep the country shut down and blame Trump for the consequences of the virus and of keeping the country shut down.