Mississippi Governor: Coronavirus ‘Escaped’ From Lab In China

TOPLINE

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) fanned the flames of a conspiracy theory Wednesday, when he said that coronavirus “escaped” from a laboratory in China, leading to the pandemic, repeating a popular theory that has continually been rejected by the scientific community.

KEY FACTS

CRITICAL QUOTE

“The reality is had this virus had not escaped from however it occurred from the lab in China, I don’t know we’d be having the conversations we’re having all day, every day. That’s just a fact,” Reeves said. He later doubled down on his comments in a tweet Wednesday afternoon.

CHIEF CRITIC

“If you look at the evolution of the virus in bats and what’s out there now, [the scientific evidence] is very, very strongly leaning toward this could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said in an interview with National Geographic. 

KEY BACKGROUND

Like much of the U.S. Sun Belt, Mississippi was hit especially hard during the record-breaking U.S. coronavirus surge this summer. The state is third in cases per capita throughout the course of the pandemic, according to data compiled by The New York Times, and is eighth in cases per capita added over the past seven days.

SURPRISING FACT

Reeves sided with science early in August when he issued a statewide mask mandate. Most states with Republican governors do not have statewide mandates, while every state with a Democratic governor has a mandate in place.

TANGENT

Reeves made his claims about the lab after taking a question about his use of the term “China Virus” in a Facebook post. Many find the term racist, but Trump continuously uses it.

FURTHER READING

Trump Claims To Have Seen Evidence Linking Coronavirus To Wuhan Lab After Intelligence Chief Says Virus Not Manmade (Forbes)

COVID ‘escaped’ from lab in China, MS governor says after controversial Facebook post (Sun Herald)

Fauci: No scientific evidence the coronavirus was made in a Chinese lab (National Geographic)

All States With Democratic Governors Now Have Mask Mandates, But Most With Republicans Don’t (Forbes)

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