; Whereas many live wildlife markets sell, kill, and store animals often in unhygienic conditions, in which tables, stalls, and floors are often contaminated with feces, bodily fluids, and blood which are known to be vectors for disease transmission; Whereas it is widely believed that SARS–CoV–2 originated in an infected bat and may have spread to humans through a second animal and spread within the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, a live wildlife market in Wuhan, China; Whereas SARS–CoV–2 which causes COVID–19 has come to be commonly called by the generic name of novel coronavirus or simply coronavirus ; Whereas, on April 3, 2020, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said, I think we should shut down those things right away … it boggles my mind how when we have so many diseases that emanate out of that unusual human-animal interface, that we don’t just shut it down. I don’t know what else has to happen to get us to appreciate that , and continued I think there are certain countries in which this is very commonplace. I would like to see the rest of the world really lean with a lot of pressure on these countries that have that, because what we are going through right now is a direct result of that. ; Whereas there have been widespread calls for the permanent closure of live wildlife markets from members of Congress, public health experts, wildlife and animal health experts, and animal welfare and conservation organizations; Whereas the Prime Minister of Vietnam and the Government of Vietnam promptly drafted a directive to prohibit wildlife trade and consumption by April 1, 2020; Whereas, in December 2019 and early 2020, Chinese Communist Party officials initially sought to cover up the outbreak and have not been sufficiently transparent with the global community regarding the emergence and initial spread of SARS–CoV–2