The United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, or USAMRIID, at Fort Detrick, Maryland, has resumed full operations after an over 8-month shutdown, but the cloud over it hasn't gone away.
With more than a quarter of the world's COVID-19 cases coming from the country, a petition on the White House website has been demanding information about the institute, and said that after its closure, "a large-scale 'influenza' killed more than 10,000 people" and following that the whole world is now struggling with the pandemic.
"Now we have reasons to ask the US government to publish the real reason for the closure of Fort Detrick, to clarify whether the laboratory is the research unit for the new coronavirus and whether there was a virus leak," the petition said in March.
Last June, inspectors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, found mechanical problems with the chemical-based decontamination system, as well as leaks, in the laboratory, Caree Vander Linden, the spokeswoman of the institute told The New York Times last August.
"A combination of things" led to the shutdown, she said.
While she said there had been no leaks of dangerous material from the lab, research on certain dangerous toxins and germs, which are also known as "select agents", had been suspended since then.
Meanwhile, The New York Times, quoting a statement from the USAMRIID, said the CDC cited "national security reasons" as the rationale for not disclosing information with regard to its suspension of research.
On the government's website, there are 67 select agents and toxins under the Federal Select Agent Program research list, which the government has determined have "the potential to pose a severe threat to public, animal or plant health or to animal or plant products".
And on the list are not only the "Ebola virus" and "smallpox virus", but the "SARS-associated coronavirus", or the SARS-CoV.
It is known that the virus that causes the COVID-19 pandemic was named SARS-CoV-2, which stands for "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2", by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses, or ICTV, on Feb 11.
The World Health Organization explained that this name was chosen because the virus is genetically related to SARS-CoV, which was responsible for the SARS outbreak of 2003.
According to a USA Today report on the US' "secretive bio labs" in 2015, "hundreds of lab mistakes, safety violations and near-miss incidents have occurred in biological laboratories coast to coast in recent years, putting scientists, their colleagues and sometimes even the public at risk".
The New York Times reported that research at the institute in Fort Detrick was suspended once in 2009 because it was storing pathogens not listed in its database.
Since the outbreak began, some US officials have kept blaming China for the pandemic and accused China of "not being transparent with data". The US administration even called for an international investigation into China's handling of the outbreak.
But China has said that its stance is to keep cooperating with the WHO with openness, transparency and responsibility, including on the issue of tracing the virus origin.
Taasisi ya Utafiti wa Matibabu ya Jeshi la Marekani ya Magonjwa ya Kuambukiza (USARMID) huko Fort Detrick, Maryland, imerudi katika shughuli zake kamili baada ya kufungwa kwa zaidi ya miezi minane, lakini wingu juu yake halijaondoka. "Kwa kuwa zaidi ya robo ya visa vya COVID-19 ulimwenguni vinatoka nchini, ombi kwenye wavuti ya Ikulu ya White House limekuwa likitaka habari kuhusu taasisi hiyo, na kusema kwamba baada ya kufungwa kwake, ""gonjwa kubwa la homa liliua watu zaidi ya 10,000"" na kufuatia hilo, ulimwengu wote sasa unajitahidi na janga hilo." "Sasa tuna sababu za kuomba serikali ya Marekani kuchapisha sababu halisi ya kufungwa kwa Fort Detrick, ili kufafanua ikiwa maabara hiyo ni kitengo cha utafiti wa virusi vipya vya corona na ikiwa kulikuwa na uvujaji wa virusi,"" ilisema ombi hilo mnamo Machi." "Wachunguzi wa Kituo cha Kudhibiti na Kuzuia Magonjwa (CDC) walipata matatizo ya kiufundi na mfumo wa kuondoa uchafuzi wa kemikali, pamoja na kuvuja, katika maabara hiyo, ""alisema Carew VanderLinden, msemaji wa taasisi hiyo, kwa The New York Times." "Mchanganyiko wa mambo" yalisababisha kufungwa, alisema. "Wakati huo huo, amesema hakuna maambukizi ya kemikali hatari kutoka kwenye maabara hiyo, lakini utafiti wa sumu na vijidudu fulani hatari, vinavyojulikana kama ""vitu vya kuchagua,"" umesimamishwa tangu wakati huo." "Katika taarifa ya gazeti la The New York Times, shirika la afya la Marekani limesema ""sababishi za usalama wa taifa"" ndizo zilizosababisha CDC kusambaza habari kuhusu kusimamishwa kwa utafiti huo." "Kwa mujibu wa orodha ya ""Vitu vya Utafiti wa Programu ya Chaguo la Shirikisho la Wakala wa Uchaguzi,"" kuna vitu 67 vya sumu ambavyo vinaweza kuhatarisha afya ya umma, wanyama au mimea, au bidhaa za wanyama au mimea." "Hii ni pamoja na virusi vya Ebola na virusi vya ugonjwa wa chembechembe, lakini pia virusi vya SARS-CoV-2 na SARS-CoV-2.""" "Kama ilivyoelezwa, virusi vya COVID-19 vimepewa jina la ""SARS-CoV-2,"" ambalo linamaanisha ""Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2,"" na Tume ya Kimataifa ya Taxonomy ya Virusi (ICTV) iliamua mnamo Februari 11. """ Shirika la Afya Duniani (WHO) limesema jina hilo lilitolewa kwa sababu virusi hivyo vina uhusiano wa urithi na SARS-CoV-2, ambayo ilisababisha janga la SARS mnamo 2003. "Kulingana na ripoti ya USA Today juu ya ""maabara ya siri ya kibiolojia"" ya Marekani mnamo 2015, ""maelfu ya makosa ya maabara, ukiukaji wa usalama na matukio ya karibu-kupoteza yametokea katika maabara ya kibiolojia pwani hadi pwani katika miaka ya hivi karibuni, ikiweka wanasayansi, wenzake na wakati mwingine hata umma katika hatari.""" "Kama ilivyoripotiwa na gazeti la New York Times, utafiti katika taasisi hiyo ya Fort Detrick ulisimamishwa mara moja mwaka 2009 kwa sababu ilikuwa ikikusanya vimelea visivyoorodheshwa katika hifadhidata yake.""" Tangu kuzuka kwa janga hilo, maafisa wa Marekani wamekuwa wakilaumu China kwa janga hilo na kumshtaki China kwa "kutokuwa wazi kuhusu data." Serikali ya Marekani imetoa wito wa kuanzisha uchunguzi wa kimataifa kuhusu jinsi China ilivyoshughulikia ugonjwa huo. China imesema kuwa itaendelea kushirikiana na WHO kwa uwazi, uwazi na uwajibikaji, ikiwa ni pamoja na suala la kufuatilia chanzo cha virusi.