"The Wuhan Institute of Virology published a statement on March 23 this year, which said that until December 30, 2019, the Wuhan Institute of Virology had not encountered a new coronavirus infection," RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.
As the diplomat noted, the statement said that as of March 23, not a single employee of the institute had contracted coronavirus.
Earlier, The Wall Street Journal, citing data from American intelligence, wrote that three scientists from Wuhan were seriously ill in November 2019 and sought medical help.
It was in this city that the outbreak of COVID-19 was first recorded in December of that year.