Wuhan Virology Lab Scientists Had CCP Virus-Like Illness in Autumn 2019, US Says

This aerial view shows the P4 laboratory (L) on the campus of the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, on May 27, 2020. Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images

Several researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology fell ill with symptoms similar to those caused by the CCP virus in the autumn of 2019, contradicting claims by a senior researcher from the facility who said there were no infections among the staff scientists.

The revelation is part of a fact sheet released by the U.S. State Department on Jan. 15, which slams the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for excessive secrecy around the origin of the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus.