By: Khagesh KG
June 16 2020
False: Professor Dr. Tasuku Honjo said that the coronavirus is not natural.
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Fact-Check
The Verdict False
There is no evidence, which suggests that Professor Honjo made any such statement, and he has also denied making this statement.
Claim ID c9bfeca8
There is no evidence, which suggests that Professor Honjo made any such statement, and he has also denied making this statement. A post on Facebook claimed that a Nobel Prize-winner Japanese scientist said that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus was manufactured by China. In response, Professor Honjo released a statement on April 27 saying he was saddened, that in the wake of the pandemic and the economic loss caused by the COVID-19, his and Kyoto University's name has been used to spread fake news. He had never said that coronavirus was manufactured in a lab in Wuhan, and there was no evidence available to support the claim that the novel coronavirus is man-made. An article published in the New England Journal of Medicine written by David M. Morens, M.D, and Peter Daszak, Ph.D., from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and Jeffery K. Taubenberger, M.D., Ph.D. states that SARS-CoV-2 is not man-made as the RNA sequences closely resemble those of viruses that exist in bats, and that the coronavirus is a bat-origin virus infecting unidentified animal species sold in China’s live-animal markets. 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.