Global debate over China’s responsibility.. and experiments in Russia for the treatment of coronavirus

Agencies 

New trials and tests are continuing around the world in the hope of finding a cure and vaccine against the new Coronavirus (COVED-19), and despite the world’s preoccupation with the epidemic and its spread and the high number of cases and casualties in many countries, the debate between the United States and China about the origin of the virus and the way it is dealt with is expanding to be joined by other countries, organizations and various studies.

On the latest trials for the treatment of the virus, Sklifosovsky, Institute of Emergency Medicine Research announced the start of the experiment using a new technique to treat “Covid-19”, using helium gas, according to sources in the Russian Ministry of Health.

“The effectiveness of helium in the treatment of acute lung diseases is determined by the nature of this gas,” the Russian Health Ministry’s media spokesman told Interfax. Helium regulates normal rates of gas formation in the blood, restores acid-basal balance, and can protect against “oxygen hunger” of blood, thereby contributing to the early prevention of complications caused by Covid-19. On the U.S.-China controversy over the epidemic, Beijing rejected Washington’s accusations about the virus leak from a Chinese laboratory, rejected accusations that the live animal market might be behind the epidemic, Moscow joined Beijing and the Russian presidency (Kremlin) declared that there was no indication that China was hiding information about Coronavirus. 

The U.S. administration on Monday called on China to open its laboratories for inspection, expressing concern about the procedures for securing those laboratories.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to rule out the possibility of the virus leaking from a laboratory in The Chinese city of Wuhan, the original epicenter of the global epidemic.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said yesterday that all WHO members should work together to conduct an independent investigation into the spread of the Coronavirus.

“When you go to a forum like WHO, you’re supposed to find responsibilities and commitments associated with it,” Morrison told reporters. “We want the world to be safer with regard to viruses.” I hope that any other country, whether China or others, will share that goal.”

The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded yesterday by saying that Australia’s call for an independent investigation was a “political manoeuvre” and called on it to stop its “intellectual bias”.

China will donate an additional $30 million to the World Health Organization (WHO) to support the global fight against the coronavirus, the ministry said.

According to a new study published yesterday, China would have recorded at least four times the official number of infections with the new coronavirus, if it had changed its clinical definition of Covid-19 earlier.