The coronavirus was not created in a lab

It’s a rumour that just won’t go away.

Since the start of the pandemic, accusations that the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for Covid-19 was designed to be a bioweapon have abounded.

The fact that an advanced virology laboratory is present in Wuhan, where the global pandemic began, has only fed ideas that the Chinese government purposefully created the virus as a bioweapon. On the other hand, some commentators in China have claimed that they were the victim of an American attack.

But behind all these claims and allegations, is there any truth to the idea that the novel coronavirus was genetically engineered to be a bioweapon and was released either deliberately or accidentally? 

In short, no; and for various scientific and practical reasons. Although biological warfare is certainly a reality, historically it has not been the harbinger of Armageddon that science-fiction films portray it to be. Many bioweapons produced during the Cold War were actually targeted at agricultural crops and livestock, thereby damaging an enemy nation’s food supply and economy. In fact, an ideal bioweapon would not be highly communicable between humans, as this reduces the risk of uncontrolled spreading...