CBL44
CBL44 t1_iz2eb8x wrote
Reply to comment by bryan_pieces in Scientists believe bats first transmitted SARS-CoV-2 to humans in December 2019, and while the virus has since evolved into several variants such as delta and omicron, a new study indicates the virus is still highly transmissible between mammals. by MistWeaver80
It obviously could but that doesn't mean it did. Wuhan is a unlikely place for a natural jump to humans and the most likely place for an accidental lab origin.
CBL44 t1_iz2phlv wrote
Reply to comment by bryan_pieces in Scientists believe bats first transmitted SARS-CoV-2 to humans in December 2019, and while the virus has since evolved into several variants such as delta and omicron, a new study indicates the virus is still highly transmissible between mammals. by MistWeaver80
The coronavirus bats tend to live in southern China or Laos and those areas are where the closest genetic relatives to Covid 19 have been found. It is also where SARS occurred. No one in the Wuhan lab has found a nearby close Covid 19 relative.
It is certainly possible that it was a natural spillover event in Wuhan or via farmed animals but Wuhan is not where you would have predicted the next SARS outbreak to occur.