China honours 'Bat Woman' of controversial Wuhan lab as WHO probes COVID-19 origin

China, on January 15, honoured a virologist working at a controversial Wuhan based bio-lab just two days after a WHO experts team arrived at the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic. The unexpected move comes in contrast to previous allegations on the communist nation that accuses it of abducting and killing researchers including the initial whistleblower of the COVID-19 pandemic. China, with over 97,000 officially reported cases and a new outbreak battering its north, recently begun its ambitious mass inoculation programme. 

Who is the ‘Bat woman’

A virologist working at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Shi Zhengli has earned the moniker of “Bat woman”  for her vehement work in the field of bats and virus. Pertaining to the same, she was honoured as an "advanced worker of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)" by the Xi Jinping administration, the state-run Global Times reported, citing a WIV announcement. China’s Premier laboratory caught eyeballs after American President Donald Trump accused it of synthetically manufacturing the coronavirus.

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Zhengli was praised as adhering to the scientific values of innovation, serving the country and benefiting people, and fought hard and never flinched in the face of difficulties and challenges, the report in Chinese daily read. Earlier, the passionate researcher made headlines after she mysteriously vanished for several months, prompting experts to believe that she had defected to a western antion However, she later resurfaced in official Chinese media and denied reports of her defection to the West stating thatshe and her family were  absolutely “fine.”

Zhengli was honoured along with 20 advanced workers during the CAS 2021 annual work conference held in Beijing, said Liu Lijun, director of the National Commendation and Rewarding Office of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO)-led team investigating the origin of the coronavirus cases is set to commence the virtual meetings with the Chinese hosts including Australian virologist Dominic Dwyer in Wuhan. The meeting was postponed earlier after two officials took coronavirus antibody tests in Singapore and tested positive. "Team now undergoing the mandatory 14 days quarantine and being treated very well by our hosts. Work begins today, day 1, in a teleconference with China team," tweeted team member Peter Daszak, a zoologist. 

Read: WHO Led Team In China To Begin Virtual Meetings Amid Quarantine: Virologist

Read: China Honours 'Bat Woman' Of Controversial Wuhan Lab As WHO Team Arrives To Probe COVID-19 Origins