Straight out of Wuhan? The 7th Military World Games, October 18-27, 2019.

[My Pet Orangutan]

There have been a number of studies suggesting that SARS-Cov-2 cases was circulating in the West prior to January 2020. One possible vector may have been the Wuhan 2019 Games.

From Wikipedia -

The 2019 Military World Game, officially known as the 7th CISM Military World Games and commonly known as Wuhan 2019, was held from October 18–27, 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei, China.

The 7th Military World Games was the first international military multi-sport event to be held in China and also it was the largest military sports event ever to be held in China, with nearly 10,000 athletes from over 100 countries competing in 27 sports.

From Xinhua -

WUHAN, Oct 11 (Xinhua) -- The athletes' village for the 2019 Wuhan Military World Games officially opened here Friday, followed by a flag-raising ceremony by the Chinese delegation in the newly-built compound, the first-ever in the 24-year history of the Games.

[Village spokesperson Xiao Zhiyong] said the village will provide 1,958 suites for roughly 10,000 athletes, coaches, and officials from more than 100 countries during the Games, which will run from 18th to 27th of October in central China's Wuhan city.

The village consists of four sections - a residence area, a public area, a logistics area and an operational one. A wide range of service facilities, such as medical centers, fitness clubs, banks, convenience stores, and souvenir shops, can be found in the village.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-10/11/c_138464322.htm

In February, a Chinese government spokesman, Zhao Lijian, peddled a conspiracy theory "that American athletes participating in the Wuhan Military World Games may have “brought the epidemic to Wuhan”

https://militarybenefits.info/military-world-games/

Leaving that shit aside, if SARS-Cov-2 did spread from Wuhan earlier than January 2020, the athletes attending the Military Games would be one obvious vector.

[malaise]

1. How would that explain Covid in Italy in September? n/t

[My Pet Orangutan]

2. It does not.

But if the Italians brought it to Wuhan, rather than the other way around, and the wet market was merely a confined space for a later super spreader event ...

[roamer65]

5. If there were Italians at the event, very well could have brought it there.

[My Pet Orangutan]

7. 'Military World Games: Thirty Medals for Italy'

http://www.difesa.it/EN/Primo_Piano/Pagine/military_world_games_thirty_medals_for_italy-.aspx

[roamer65]

10. There you go.

Yikes.

[Klaralven]

3. Covid-19 does seem like an ideal test of defenses against biological warfare

It is just infectious enough and just lethal enough to have a major, but not catastrophic impact, and it is lethal mainly to the elderly.

Which countries could have engineered it? (Although doing so may not require a national-scale activity, but could be done by other organizations?)

Which country (organization) would want to do run the test?

Also, were previous outbreaks of Avian flu and African Swine Fever in China natural, or is there a covert biological war being waged? (Biological warfare can be conducted against crops and herds with devastating effect.)

[My Pet Orangutan]

4. The consensus is that SARS-Cov-2 was not engineered.

No, the coronavirus wasn’t made in a lab.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/coronavirus-covid-19-not-human-made-lab-genetic-analysis-nature

[roamer65]

6. At worst it is possible it could have been an accidental release of a natural virus.

But there is no proof of it and we will never know.

I don’t believe it was engineered, nor do I believe it was an intentional release.

[My Pet Orangutan]

8. You would have to be insane to release it.

There was no guarantee that it would not go on to kill 1 in 10 like SARS1.

(Not that there are not some insane people in the world, but BSL-4 security makes it difficult to do so on a whim)

[roamer65]

9. Correct.

99.9 pct chance this is a zoonosis of some sort.