US cuts off funding to Wuhan institute over stonewalling COVID probe: Report

The US government has cut off funding for the controversial Wuhan Institute of Virology, which has long been scrutinised as the possible origin of COVID-19, after the facility failed to provide documents about safety and security, according to a report.

According to a Bloomberg report, citing a memo, the Department of Health and Human Services notified the institute about the suspension on Monday and told the lab it’s seeking to cut it off permanently.

An HHS review that started in September raised concern that the facility based in Wuhan, where Covid first emerged, is violating biosafety protocols and isn’t complying with US regulations, added the report.

“This action will ensure the [Wuhan Institute of Virology] does not receive another dollar of federal funding,” the report quoted department spokesperson as saying in a statement.

The Biden administration has repeatedly accused the Chinese facility, where researchers conducted coronavirus research in the city were the first documented cases of COVID-19 were recorded, of hampering its investigation into the origins of the pandemic.

The deadly virus has killed 7 million people across the globe.

According to the Bloomberg report, the US spokesperson said on Monday the Wuhan lab has not responded to federal officials yet since the US decided to cut future funding that would include new contracts, grants and other transactions.

The Wuhan Institute has not received a penny from the National Institutes of Health since 2020, Bloomberg reported.

With inputs from agencies