False: The Fort Detrick lab in the United States is the origin place of the 2019 coronavirus which was forced to shut down when the virus leaked.

By: Archana Naresh
May 16 2020

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Articles by the Frederick News-Post and The Fox News and information by the Guangzhou government disproves the claim.A message went viral on social media in March 2020 that the U.S. Army Medical Command installation 'Fort Detrick' is the origin of the COVID-19 outbreak. As per the articles published by the Fox News and the Frederick News-Post in August 2019, Fort Detrick spokesperson Caree Vander Linden said the main reason for the closure of the lab was lack of procedure in wastewater decontamination system built by them which failed to meet the standards of Federal Select Agent Program. She had also added that there were no leaks of dangerous material outside the laboratory. The handbook published by the Guangzhou government for prevention and treatment of pneumonia caused by the novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) reveals that most of the patients infected by the coronavirus had reported that they had exposure to the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, where wild animals were sold for consumption. The handbook also states that since the coronavirus is capable of transmitting from animal to person, the initial source of spreading might be either exposure to or consumption of wild animals sold in the market which carried the virus (Refer Q.16). According to the report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), patients infected with respiratory illness caused by the 2019 coronavirus in Wuhan had links to the large seafood and animal market, suggesting that it might be a source for transmission of the coronavirus from animals to humans. The above information proves that there is no link between the 2019 coronavirus outbreak and Fort Detrick. The lab was shut down because the CDC found the organization had failed to meet bio-safety standards and safety concerns. As of now, there is no confirmation on the source of the coronavirus outbreak, and there have been no reports which suggest that Fort Detrick was the cause of the outbreak. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.