BEIJING: The director of a maximum-security laboratory in China's coronavirus ground-zero city of Wuhan has rejected claims that it could be the source of the outbreak, calling it "impossible".
Beijing has come under increasing pressure over transparency in its handling of the pandemic, with the US probing whether the virus actually originated in a virology institute with a high-security biosafety laboratory.
Chinese scientists have said the virus likely jumped from an animal to humans in a market that sold wildlife.
But the existence of the facility has fuelled conspiracy theories that the germ spread from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, specifically its P4 laboratory which is equipped to handle dangerous viruses.
In an interview with state media published Saturday Yuan Zhiming, director of the laboratory, said that "there's no way this virus came from us".
None of his staff had been infected, he told the English-language state broadcaster CGTN, adding the "whole institute is carrying out research in different areas related to the coronavirus".
The institute had already dismissed the theory in February, saying it had shared information about the pathogen with the World Health Organization in early January.
But this week the United States has brought the rumours into the mainstream, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying US officials are doing a "full investigation" into how the virus "got out into the world".
When asked if the research suggested the virus could have come from the institute, Yuan said: "I know it's impossible."
"As people who carry out viral studies we clearly know what kind of research is going on at the institute and how the institute manages viruses and samples," he said.
He said that because the P4 laboratory is in Wuhan "people can't help but make associations", but that some media outlets are "deliberately trying to mislead people".
Reports in the Washington Post and Fox News have both quoted anonymous sources who voiced concern that the virus may have come - accidentally - from the facility.
Yuan said the reports were "entirely based on speculation" without "evidence or knowledge".
Authorities in Wuhan initially tried to cover up the outbreak and there have been questions about the official tally of infections with the government repeatedly changing its counting criteria at the peak of the outbreak.
This week authorities in the city admitted mistakes in counting its death toll and abruptly raised the figure by 50 per cent.
WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - US President Donald Trump said on Saturday (April 18) that China should face unspecified consequences if it was "knowingly responsible" for the coronavirus pandemic.
“If it was a mistake, a mistake is a mistake. But if they were knowingly responsible, yeah, I mean, then sure there should be consequences,” Trump told reporters at a daily briefing. He did not elaborate on what actions the United States might take.
Trump and senior aides have sharply criticised China for a lack of transparency after the coronavirus broke out in its Wuhan province. Last week he suspended aid to the World Health Organisation accusing it of being “China-centric.”
Washington and Beijing, the world’s two biggest economies, have publicly sparred over the virus repeatedly.
Trump initially praised China’s response to the outbreak, but he and other senior officials have also referred to it as the “Chinese virus” and in recent days have ratcheted up their rhetoric.
They have also angrily rejected earlier attempts by some Chinese officials to blame the origin of the virus on the US military.
Trump’s domestic critics say that while China performed badly at the outset and must still come clean on what happened, he is now seeking to use Beijing to help deflect from the shortcomings of his own response and take advantage of growing anti-China sentiment among some voters for his 2020 re-election bid.
At the same time, however, White House officials are mindful of the potential backlash if tensions get too heated. The United States is heavily reliant on China for personal protection equipment desperately needed by American medical workers, and Trump also wants to keep a hard-won trade deal on track.
Trump said the US-China relationship was good “until they did this,” citing a recent first-phase agricultural deal aimed at quelling a trade war between the two countries. “But then all of a sudden you hear about this,” he said.
He said the Chinese were “embarrassed” and the question now was whether what happened with the coronavirus was “a mistake that got out of control, or was it done deliberately?” “There’s a big difference between those two,” he said.
WUHAN LAB
Trump also raised questions about a Wuhan virology laboratory that Fox News this week reported had likely developed the coronavirus as part of China’s effort to demonstrate its capacity to identify and combat viruses.
Trump has said his government is seeking to determine whether the virus emanated from a Chinese lab.
As far back as February, the Chinese state-backed Wuhan Institute of Virology dismissed rumours that the virus may have been artificially synthesised at one of its labs or perhaps escaped from such a facility.
Wandering off the topic of the coronavirus, Trump also used the White House briefing to take a swipe at presumed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his long record on China as a senator and former vice president.
While stressing his own confrontational trade policies toward China, Trump, using his nickname “Sleepy Joe” for his rival, said if Biden wins the White House that China and other countries “will take our country.”
Trump also again cast doubt on China’s death toll, which was revised up on Friday. China said 1,300 people who died of the coronavirus in Wuhan – half the total – were not counted, but has dismissed allegations of a cover-up.
The United States has by far the world’s largest number of confirmed coronavirus cases, with more than 720,000 infections and over 37,000 deaths.
Even Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force who has steered clear of political aspects of Trump’s contentions briefings, questioned China’s data.
Showing on a chart that China’s death rate per 100,000 people was far below major European countries and the United States, she called China’s numbers “unrealistic” and said it had a “moral obligation” to provide credible information.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump warned on Saturday (Apr 18) that China could face consequences if it was "knowingly responsible" for the coronavirus pandemic.
"It could have been stopped in China before it started and it wasn't," Trump told reporters at a White House briefing. "And now the whole world is suffering because of it."
Trump was asked whether China should suffer consequences over the pandemic which began in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December and has left more than 157,000 people dead around the world.
"If they were knowingly responsible, certainly," he said. "If it was a mistake, a mistake is a mistake.
"But if they were knowingly responsible, yeah, then there should be consequences," Trump said.
"Was it a mistake that got out of control or was it done deliberately?" he asked. "That's a big difference between those two.
"In either event they should have let us go in," he said. "We asked to go in early. And they didn't want us in. I think they knew it was something bad and they were embarrassed."
"They said they're doing an investigation," the president continued. "So let's see what happens with their investigation. But we're doing investigations also."
The Trump administration has said it doesn't rule out that the novel coronavirus was spread - accidentally - from a laboratory researching bats in Wuhan.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian - who previously alleged that the US military may have brought the virus into China - has rejected US media reports on the subject and said there is "no scientific basis."
Trump also cast doubt on official Chinese figures showing the country has suffered just 0.33 deaths per 100,000 people.
"The number's impossible," he said. "It's an impossible number to hit."
The United States, according to a chart displayed at the briefing, has had 11.24 deaths per 100,000 people while France has had 27.92 and Spain 42.81.
SINGAPORE: From growing rice at sea to turning to microalgae as an alternative protein source - these are some of the ways Singapore could boost its homegrown food production in the future as it looks to improve its food security.
The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a wake-up call for Singapore on the issue of food security, say experts.
“The crisis could be a timely reminder of how fragile food security can be,” said Professor William Chen, director of the Nanyang Technological University’s Food Science and Technology programme.
While there are other factors such as climate change which pose a threat to food security, these are relatively far off, he noted.
The coronavirus outbreak, as well as resulting lockdowns to stop its spread, has helped put a spotlight on the issue, said Prof Chen, who is also Michael Fam chair professor at NTU.
In March, Malaysia announced its movement control order, with measures including barring citizens from leaving and foreigners from entering the country. This sparked a round of panic buying in Singapore, with long queues of people at supermarkets stocking up on items such as eggs and meat.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong later announced that his Malaysian counterpart Muhyiddin Yassin had assured him that the flow of goods and cargo - including food supplies - between the two countries would continue despite the travel restrictions.
About 90 per cent of Singapore’s food currently comes from overseas.
Last month Singapore and six other countries - namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Myanmar and New Zealand - issued a joint ministerial statement highlighting a commitment to maintaining open supply chains amid the ongoing pandemic.
“One of the ways to go forward is to have more of these supply chain connectivity agreements,” said food security expert Paul Teng. However, Prof Teng - an adjunct senior fellow at the Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies under the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies - said it was unclear how binding such agreements were.
During times of crisis, countries may understandably seek to protect their own interests, said Prof Chen.
“It would be very difficult to impose (on other countries) that you promised this and that,” he noted.
Prof Teng pointed to Vietnam’s move last month to suspend exports of rice to ensure its own national food security amid the COVID-19 outbreak - which it has since reversed - as well as other factors beyond the control of governments, such as the droughts in Thailand that had affected rice production there. Prof Chen also highlighted how governments may choose to keep supply chains open, as exports of food and other essential items are a significant source of revenue for these countries.
While only 10 per cent of Singapore’s food is produced locally, it aims to become less dependent on other countries over the course of the next decade.
Last year, the Singapore Food Agency announced plans to have 30 per cent of the country’s food produced locally by 2030. It aimsto achieve this in land-scarce Singapore by four means - harnessing technology, increasing the amount of space dedicated to farming, as well as supporting local agriculture and encouraging consumers to buy local produce.
And with the opening of an 18ha Agri-Food Innovation Park in Sungei Kadut next year - dedicated to high-tech farming as well as research and development in the sector - Singapore aims to stake its own claim in the S$5 trillion agri-tech industry.
Funan's urban farm on level 7. (Photo: Gaya Chandramohan)
Even so, the price sensitivity of Singapore consumers means they tend to shy away from local produce, which is generally more expensive than imports from elsewhere in the region, Prof Teng noted.
“There are also some who believe that imported is better, particularly from countries like Japan, Australia or USA,” said Bjorn Low, co-founder and executive director of urban farming social enterprise Edible Garden City.
Prof Chen said his research in microalgae - an alternative protein food source - showed it could be done inexpensively and without sunlight.
Still, Mr Low noted there are other hurdles in urban farming in Singapore.
“One of the biggest challenges we face is a talent crunch. Not only is it difficult to hire Singaporeans to become farmers, it is also difficult to train our staff locally, as there are little to no accredited farming programmes,” he added, noting that there is also a lack of space and resources, with the resulting lack of economies of scale leading to higher costs.
“Thankfully, all of these issues are changing for the better, as the Government is extending more help to local farmers, and as people are becoming more aware of the quality of local produce, as well as the national and nutritional benefits of buying local.”
Technology could also expand the scope of what can be grown locally, said Prof Teng.
He pointed to British startup Agrisea, which claims to have developed a variety of rice that can be grown in the ocean, noting it is in early discussions to test it in Southeast Asia. "This could be a real game-changer," he said. "We might see big circular platforms growing rice (in the sea) around Singapore."
Even as Singapore moves to adopt tech to boost its local produce, Prof Teng - who himself ran a fish farm until two years ago - believes there is still a place for smaller, more conventional farming methods.
“It’s not proven to us yet - or to me anyway - that a few large farms can feed everybody,” he said.
Community gardens could serve this purpose of growing vegetables for residents, he noted, adding that the authorities could allow for excess vegetables from such gardens to be sold off.
While noting Edible Garden City uses agritech to overcome limitations such as space or climate - allowing it to grow kale and specialty Japanese vegetables like komatsuna in indoor climate controlled environments - there must be a balance with “natural farming methods”, Mr Low said.
“At Edible Garden City, we grow what we can outdoors using natural farming permaculture methods. This has the least impact on the environment and is the most sustainable way of farming, keeping our soil healthy and productive for future generations,” he said.
“Additionally, there's also a wide variety of veggies that grow well in our climate, many of which are not only tasty but that are incredibly nutritious.”
File photo of a farm in Singapore. (Photo: AFP)
Prof Chen also noted that as part of food security, Singaporeans should reduce their level of consumption as well as the amount of food waste produced here. Any waste produced should be composted, he said.
He pointed to figures released by the National Environment Agency on Wednesday that showed that food waste made up 20 per cent - or 600,000 tonnes - of the three million tonnes of waste generated here last year.
Beyond that, he said there could be greater decentralisation of food production here, noting this would lighten the burden of ensuring food security on the Government.
While fish farming may be too difficult to do at a community level, there are other options, said Prof Chen.
“If we talk about community gardens, why not community chicken farms?” he asked, noting this could provide both poultry and eggs to residents.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 942 new coronavirus cases in Singapore today (April 18). Out of these, there are 22 cases in the community, 27 cases involving work permit holders residing outside dormitories and 893 cases of work permit holders residing in dormitories.
Of the new cases, 79 per cent are linked to known clusters, while the rest are pending contact tracing.
Three new clusters have also been announced: Homestay Lodge which has 12 cases; CDPL Tuas Dormitory which has five cases and TTJ Design & Engineering Pte Ltd which has six cases.
There is one new case in the public healthcare sector: Case 5539 is a 28 year-old male Indian national who is employed as a housekeeper at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) but had not gone to work since onset of symptoms. He has no recent travel history to affected countries or regions.
He reported onset of symptoms on April 15, and subsequent test results confirmed Covid-19 infection on April 17. He is currently warded at SGH.
Thirty-eight more cases have been discharged. Of the 2,563 confirmed cases who are still in hospital, most are stable or improving while 23 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit. The 2,678 cases who are clinically well but still test positive for Covid-19 are isolated and cared for at community facilities.
Case 4754, a 40 year-old male Malaysian national, died on 18 April 2020. He was confirmed to have Covid-19 infection on 17 April. The cause of death was acute myocardial infarction with cardiogenic shock, and was not due to complications from Covid-19.
This brings the total number of cases to 5,992, with 740 patients discharged and 11 deaths.
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SINGAPORE: The foreign ministers of 13 countries, including Singapore, have committed to maintaining essential global links in areas such as trade and travel, to mimimise the disruption from COVID-19 and facilitate economic recovery.
Participating countries held a teleconference on Friday (Apr 17) as part of the Ministerial Coordination Group on COVID-19 convened by Canada. The group also includes Brazil, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, South Korea, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
In a declaration issued after the teleconference, the group noted the importance of maintaining air, land and marine transportation links, as well as supply chain connectivity.
This is to facilitate the return home of travellers who may be stranded, ensure the flow of goods, as well as the distribution of personal protective equipment and medicine.
The foreign ministers pledged to promote and protect free trade, and agreed that emergency measures to tackle COVID-19 must be targeted, proportionate, transparent and temporary, and that they do not create unnecessary barriers to trade or disruption to global supply chains.
They also acknowledged the critical role of the scientific community in providing guidance to governments in managing the COVID-19 pandemic.
In urging other countries to adopt a similar approach, the declaration said: "As the world manages the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is vital that we work together to save lives and livelihoods. Global cooperation is necessary to mitigate the unprecedented disruption to the global economy, trade, and travel.
"We must endeavour to deliver a strong and coordinated global health response including developing a vaccine and relevant treatments and to identify best practices to emerge from the crisis as a stronger, more interconnected world."
