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Coronavirus Pandemic: A glimpse of top bio-safety level lab in Wuhan

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The Wuhan Institute of Virology has been at the center of COVID-19 speculations across the world. Some of the theories say that the coronavirus originated from its lab and that its researchers secretly sold experimental animals in the wet market. CGTN reporter Hu Chao visited the Institute’s top bio-safety level lab and talked to a senior lab official there who dismissed the accusations.

In the outskirts of the city, one can find the Wuhan National Biosafety Lab housed within the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

HU CHAO CGTN “This national biosafety laboratory runs two levels of labs, P3 and P4. The P4 lab, the biosafety level 4 lab, is the top level. And for many, it may seem a bit mysterious. What does it look like and what happens inside? Now let’s find out.”

The letter “P” stands for pathogen, the higher the number after it, the more dangerous the pathogen.

A rating of P4 designates a lab as a maximum-security area. And the Wuhan bio-lab is one of few in the world with such a rating. Its director recalls how it was established.

YUAN ZHIMING Director, Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory “The SARS outbreak in 2003 exposed weaknesses in China’s public health system. That was when we decided to start building a high-level biosafety lab.”

It was a project between China and France, one that took 15 years to complete. The lab became fully operational by 2018. So why did it take such a long time?

YUAN ZHIMING Director, Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory “Aside from the technical complexities, we also had to set up relevant management systems and train relevant personnel to ensure safe operations. In 2018, we finally got national accreditation for experimental activities in the lab. This meant that China would have its own lab for research on deadly viruses. And China’s biosafety lab system began to take shape.”

Only qualified personnel are allowed inside the P4 lab, all of whom must have extensive biosafety training and experience.

As visitors, we were granted special access after identity and security checks. With the help of a staff member at the lab, we entered the P4 lab, but found ourselves confined to the hallways due to security requirements.

YUAN ZHIMING Director, Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory “A P4 lab comes with a biosafety platform to ensure researchers are safe from the pathogens they work on and that the pathogens stay within the lab. We have a complex system for electricity, air filtration, emergency shower, automations, fire safety and life support. All these facilities work to ensure a negative-pressure confined space.”

The P4 lab is mainly used for research on deadly viruses, especially those without a known cure or a vaccine. It can take nearly half an hour for each person to enter or exit the lab.

Personnel must wear positive-pressure suits, which feature hoses for breathable air. All waste items will undergo biosafety disposal and sterilization via high temperature and pressure facilities.

YUAN ZHIMING Director, Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory “Without authorization, not even a mosquito can sneak into the lab and none of our researchers can take even a drop of water or a piece of paper out of the lab. So, when some people speculated that we might take the experimental animals out to sell or that these animals might escape from our lab, they actually had no idea about the management and operations of our lab.”

A comprehensive safety check is conducted every year. The lab’s compound covers an area of more than 3,000 square meters. Its core area is over 1,000 square meters.

YUAN ZHIMING Director, Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory “In fact, the lab is like a box within a box. People might envision it as a secretive black box. But as you can see, it’s a very open and transparent lab. People from the outside can see what goes on inside and vice versa. We hope to make it a platform for inter

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Pakistan Observes KASHMIR SOLIDARITY DAY in Abuja

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Joel Ajayi


The people of Pakistan inside the country and across the world is observing Kashmir Solidarity Day Today’s Monday express solidarity with Kashmiris in their struggle for the right to self-determination.  
Since 1990, the Nation of Pakistan observes February 5th as Kashmir Solidarity Day.

According to the statement issued by the High Commissioner of Islamic Republic of Pakistan Abuja, Nigeria H.E Mr Sohail Ahmad Khan stated that, Kashmir Solidarity Day serves as an annual reminder of the  prolonged conflict in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, where the struggle for self-determination has left an indelible mark on the lives of innocent Kashmiris. 

“Multiple UN Resolutions unambiguously declare that the final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir will be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted  under the auspices of the United Nations. 


“Numerous international, UN organizations as well as UN Special Rapporteurs have reported gross human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir. 


“Media and press is under tremendous pressure by Indian Government especially in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir which is evident from India’s  ranking of 161 out of 180 countries as per 2023 World Press Freedom.


“Jammu and Kashmir has been converted into world’s most militarized zone and the largest prison on earth. Pakistan stands firm with Kashmiri brothers and sisters and  will continue to provide unwavering diplomatic support.


“Pakistan demands that International community including United Nations and it’s relevant Human Rights Machinery, Civil Society Organizations, Media Houses and other defenders of Human  Rights to fulfill their obligations towards besieged Kashmiris by playing their part to end the rule of tyranny and oppression.”

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