China's 'bat woman' feared Covid could have escaped from her Wuhan lab
Daily MailColleagues said the virologist spent 'sleepless nights' working to rule out a leak China's own 'bat woman' feared Covid could have leaked from inside her secretive laboratory, insiders claimed today. Professor Wang Linfa, described as a friend of hers by the BBC, said the respected scientist spent 'sleepless nights' combing through frozen virus samples at the WIV, fearing 'what might happen' if she found an exact match for Covid in her lab. Shi Zhengli - dubbed the 'Bat Lady' of 'Bat Woman' for her work on bat coronaviruses - investigated the possibility Covid could have emerged from her lab back in 2020 according to colleagues. Here she is pictured working with other researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2017 While China has insisted the virus originated elsewhere, academics, politicians and the media have contemplated the possibility it leaked from a high-level biochemical lab in Wuhan - raising suspicions that Chinese officials simply hid evidence of the early spread Professor Wang, a Singaporean expert in emerging infectious diseases, and an honorary professor at the WIV, said he recalled how Dr Shi spent 'sleepless nights' to ensure Covid wasn't linked to her lab Such a match could have proved the virus did spawn inside the halls of the facility.