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A laboratory in Wuhan has been assessed as a likely source of a leak that caused the pandemic

FBI director says Wuhan lab leak likely caused pandemic

FBI Director Christopher Wray has said the agency has assessed that a leak from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, likely caused the Covid-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus • 01 Mar 23

Huanan Seafood Market was shut down due to its connection to the first Covid cases

Two new studies point to Wuhan market for Covid origin

An animal market in China's Wuhan really was the epicentre of the Covid pandemic, according to a pair of new studies in the journal Science that claimed to have tipped the balance in the debate about the virus' origins.

Coronavirus • 27 Jul 22

One theory suggest the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology

WHO chief: Push to deny Covid lab theory 'premature'

The World Health Organization chief has acknowledged that a prior push to all but rule out the possibility that Covid-19 may have escaped from a lab had been "premature".

World • 16 Jul 21

US intelligence agencies examining reports that researchers at a Chinese virology laboratory were seriously ill in 2019 a month before the first cases of Covid-19 were reported

US calls for 'transparent' new probe into Covid origins

The United States has called for international experts to be allowed to evaluate the source of the coronavirus and the "early days of the outbreak" in a second phase of an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus.

Coronavirus • 25 May 21

Concerns have been expressed about the WHO-led Covid-19 origins study

Wuhan lab staff fell ill before Covid outbreak - report

Three researchers from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology sought hospital care in November 2019, months before China disclosed the Covid-19 pandemic, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing a previously undisclosed US intelligence report.

World • 24 May 21

Many scientists think the virus that causes Covid-19 originated in bats and may have jumped to people via another mammal

What is the Wuhan lab at centre of WHO investigation?

Speculation has swirled since the start of the pandemic that Covid-19 may have emerged from a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan that World Health Organization inspectors visited today.

News Lens • 03 Feb 21

This time last year, the coronavirus was spreading rapidly through the 11-million strong population of Wuhan

Return to Wuhan – One year on, still no answers

One year on, we still know very little about how and why a new coronavirus, which killed 1.6 million and sickened 74 million people around the world, first broke out in Wuhan, writes Yvonne Murray.

World • 17 Dec 20

The park was filled with people for a music festival

China partygoers cram into Wuhan water park

Thousands of partygoers packed out a water park over the weekend in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus first emerged late last year, keen to party as the city edges back to normal life.

Coronavirus • 18 Aug 20

Wuhan lab said it did have live bat viruses but not the one that caused Covid-19 (file image)

Wuhan lab had bat viruses, but 'not' Covid-19 strain

The Chinese virology institute in the city where Covid-19 first emerged has three live strains of bat coronavirus on-site, but none match the new contagion wreaking chaos across the world, its director has said.

Coronavirus • 24 May 20

China's Parliament begins annual meeting after a two-month delay

China emerges from Covid-19 crisis bolder and stronger

China's parliament, the National People's Congress, will begin its annual meeting, after a two-month delay, due to the coronavirus outbreak.

World • 22 May 20

Residents wears face masks while riding their motorcycles yesterday in Wuhan

Wuhan to test entire population following latest cases

Officials in Wuhan plan to conduct coronavirus tests on the Chinese city's entire population after new cases emerged for the first time in weeks in the cradle of the global pandemic, according to state media reports.

World • 12 May 20

Senior students have returned to secondary schools in Wuhan

Students in China's virus centre Wuhan return to school

Chinese students in the global virus epicentre of Wuhan filed back to class this morning, wearing masks and walking in single file past thermal scanners.

Coronavirus • 06 May 20

Researchers work in a lab at the Wuhan Institute of Virology

US has provided no proof to back Wuhan lab claims - WHO

The World Health Organization has said the United States has provided no evidence to support "speculative" claims by President Donald Trump that the new coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab.

Coronavirus • 06 May 20

The findings cast doubt on the idea that bats spread more viruses than other animals

Bats may not pose higher virus risk than other species

The idea that certain creatures such as bats pose a higher risk of spreading viruses to humans may not be accurate, new research suggests.

News • 13 Apr 20

Chinese police blocked roads out of Wuhan as part of the lockdown

China lockdown 'may have blocked' 700,000 new cases

China's decision to lock down the city of Wuhan may have prevented more than 700,000 new cases by delaying the spread of the virus.

Coronavirus • 01 Apr 20

Passengers at the main rail station in Wuhan

Wuhan eases travel restrictions after lockdown

The Chinese city of 11 million people that was Ground Zero for what became the global coronavirus pandemic partly has reopened after more than two months of almost total isolation.

Coronavirus • 28 Mar 20

A worker disinfects around the No. 7 Hospital, once designated for only COVID-19 patients, in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province

No new cases reported in Wuhan in 24 hours - WHO

The World Health Organization has welcomed the news that the Chinese city where the new coronavirus first emerged in December had for the first time reported no new cases in 24 hours.

Coronavirus • 20 Mar 20

Medical staff at work in the intensive care unit in a hospital in Wuhan

No major change in 'trajectory' of coronavirus - WHO

The World Health Organization has said a sharp rise in reported COVID-19 cases in China, due to a change in counting methods, did not represent a big shift in the epidemic.

China • 13 Feb 20

People in Hong Kong wear face masks as a protective measure

Coronavirus death toll rises to at least 630

The number of confirmed deaths in China from the new coronavirus outbreak has risen to at least 630 after hard-hit Hubei province reported 69 new fatalities.

World • 07 Feb 20

Ben Kavanagh, from Kildare, was among a group of 110 who were airlifted from Wuhan in China

Irish teacher in UK quarantine 'tired but well'

An Irish teacher under quarantine in a British hospital says the accommodation he has been placed in is lovely and much nicer than he could have hoped for.

Ireland • 02 Feb 20

The chartered plane arrived at RAF Brize Norton this afternoon

Irish citizens taken to hospital after China evacuation

Three Irish people have been brought to a British hospital for quarantine, after being evacuated from the city of Wuhan in China.

Ireland • 31 Jan 20

The two people with the virus are being treated in Newcastle

US declares coronavirus a public health emergency

UK health officials have said two people have tested positive for the coronavirus in England, in what are the first cases to reach Britain since the deadly outbreak emerged in China and spread globally.

World • 31 Jan 20

The HSE said there is a moderate likelihood of further cases being imported into EU countries

No suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases here - HSE

The Health Service Executive has said that there have been no suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases in Ireland.

Ireland • 30 Jan 20

China has urged its citizens to delay trips abroad to avoid spreading the limit further global contagion

Airlines halt China flights as virus toll rises

Foreign airlines have started to suspend flights to and from China today as global fears mounted over a coronavirus epidemic that has killed 132 people and infected nearly 6,000.

Business • 29 Jan 20

People wearing protective face masks walk past a closed Starbucks coffee shop in China

Starbucks sees virus hit as it shuts 2,000 China stores

Starbucks has become the first major US company to warn of a financial hit from the new coronavirus outbreak in China, as it closed thousands of restaurants and adjusted operating hours in its biggest growth market.

Business • 29 Jan 20