Uproar follows wildlife expert’s claim Covid-19 may have originated in South Africa

Wildlife director of the African branch of Humane Society International (HSI) Audrey Delsink has left Africans with a sour taste in their mouths after claiming the deadly coronavirus may have started in South Africa, not China.

Chinese scientists suspected the virus may have been transmitted to humans at a Wuhan market where exotic animals were slaughtered, though conspiracy theories that the virus came from a maximum-security virology lab have also been brought into the mainstream by US government officials.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said an investigation was under way into how the virus “got out into the world”.

UPDATE: FAKE NEWS | No, the coronavirus did not originate in South Africa

The exact origin and cause of the virus are therefore yet to be determined – and it’s possible they never will be.

But according to Delsink, the US government may be chasing after the wind as she thinks the virus may have originated in South Africa.

She told Express UK: “People are so concerned that they are the host species and it’s not inconceivable to consider that it was a pangolin from South Africa that was in the mix there and was the intermediate host.

“The fact of the matter is that we have bats and pangolin here. Bats, especially, host a number of diseases, so in South Africa we have all those species.”

Delsink further told the publication images of animals “stacked on top of one another” in wet markets in China reflected what happened at “some” farms in South Africa.

“Recently released images showed one where 50 lions had been slaughtered – there was a mix of faeces, blood and all sorts of things there.

“It’s not hard to imagine how this could happen in our country, you know, that’s what concerns me, that some people are naive enough to think it could never happen here,” she was quoted as saying.

ALSO READ: Pangolin identified as potential link for coronavirus spread

Delsink’s claim has been highly criticised by Africans, who say the world is trying to now use the continent as a scapegoat.

This came after reports of Africans being assaulted in China and China responding to US suggestions that it may have to pay trillions in financial reparations for being where the virus emerged. The Chinese have said that, if that kind of attitude were valid, then they could have sued the US for being where the 2008 financial crisis began.

These were some of the reactions on social media:

I’m not sure about you, but I don’t read this as the ecologist saying Coronavirus started in South Africa rather, it sounds – to me – that she’s saying it could just have easily started in SA because of the animals involved, not that it did…https://t.co/LWwyuzQHKv

— Joe Crann (@YesWeCrann) May 12, 2020

https://twitter.com/iambolorunfe/status/1259943714769731585

Um. I’m confused. So it might have been a pangolin, not a bat & we have pangolins so the virus might have started here? “Coronavirus U-turn: Killer virus could have started in South Africa – not China ?” @Express.co.uk https://t.co/8UegzNjJ1L

— Gillian Rightford (@grightford) May 12, 2020

What nonsense is this now! 😠😠
Coronavirus U-turn: Killer virus could have started in South Africa – not China https://t.co/chNMCQ6oFo

— Godfrey Albertyn 🇿🇦 🤡 (@galbertyn) May 12, 2020

What the ….
There's so many things in this article to be concerned about … don't know where to start!
_________________________________
Coronavirus U-turn: Killer virus could have started in South Africa – not China https://t.co/Vp8yC1flYi

— YAVI | Ms. AfCFTA | #SDGsAfRICA (@YaviMadurai) May 12, 2020

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