Chinese Government Forces TV Host Who Popularized Eating Bats to Apologize

Bat soup is off the menu.

The Chinese government forced the host of a TV show which popularized eating bats to apologize in the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak, which scientists have linked to the consumption of wild animals.

Bat soup is a delicacy in some areas of China and was known to be sold at the illegal animal market in Wuhan blamed for being the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.

A show called Beauty Eats Bats which originally launched in 2016 was blamed for re-invigorating the trend of eating bats across the country, prompting the Chinese Communist Party to demand that its female host discourage the consumption of bats.

The woman featured in the clip took to social media to profusely apologize for her role in encouraging the consumption of bats and encouraged everyone to start washing their hands more.

The video shows the woman breaking apart the corpse of a boiled bat, dipping its wing in sauce and eating it.

Meanwhile, the scale of the coronavirus outbreak continues to escalate.

56 million Chinese citizens have now been quarantined, with Chinese authorities claiming that around 1300 people have been infected so far.

However, according to one hospital worker in Wuhan, the government is lying and over 100,000 people have actually been infected.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that the United States will send a chartered flight to evacuate all of its citizens and diplomats out of Wuhan.

According to official figures, the virus has killed 41 people, although many suspect this number to be far higher.

Meanwhile, it’s probably a good idea for Chinese citizens to stop eating bats and other wild animals that are vectors for disease.

A top virologist who was involved in the response to SARS says he has visited Wuhan, China and believes that the coronavirus is “out of control.”

Dr. Guan, the director of the State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infections Diseases at the University of Hong Kong, told the Globe and Mail, “I’ve experienced so much and I’ve never felt scared before, but this time I’m scared.”

Guan also warned that the scale of the infection may be “10 times higher than SARS” and left Wuhan fearing that “the epidemic situation was out of control.”

The doctor warned that quarantine measures imposed by authorities may not go far enough.

“When these people returned to their hometowns, they took the virus to all parts of the country,” he said.

Yesterday we highlighted video footage out of Wuhan that showed victims of the virus collapsing on the streets.

20 million Chinese citizens are now under quarantine across 13 cities due to the outbreak.

There have been 830 confirmed cases of the virus within China with further cases confirmed in Thailand, the US, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Singapore.

The virus has claimed 26 lives so far, mostly elderly people with existing illnesses.

As we highlighted yesterday, a biosafety level 4 laboratory that studies the “world’s most dangerous pathogens” is based in Wuhan, leading some to speculate whether the virus was accidentally released.

However, officials say the source of the outbreak was an illegal animal market in Wuhan which sold bats and snakes.

https://summit.news/2020/01/25/chinese-government-forces-tv-host-who-popularized-eating-bats-to-apologize/