BEIJING – The first scientist to publish a sequence of the COVID-19 virus in China said he was allowed back into his laboratory after spending days locked outside, sitting in protest.
Zhang Yongzhen wrote in an online post on Wednesday shortly after midnight that the medical center that houses his laboratory had “tentatively agreed” to allow him and his team to return and continue their research for the time being.
“Team members can now freely enter and leave the laboratory,” Zhang wrote in a post on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform. He added that he is negotiating a plan to relocate the lab in a way that does not disrupt his team’s work with the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, which houses Zhang’s lab.
Zhang had been holding a protest outside his lab since the weekend after he and his team were suddenly told they needed to leave and were locked out, a sign of continued pressure on Chinese scientists conducting research into the coronavirus.
Zhang sat outside on a flat cardboard in the pouring rain, and members of his team unfurled a banner that read “Resume normal scientific research work,” photos posted online show. News of the protest spread widely on Chinese social media, putting pressure on local authorities.
In an online statement on Monday, the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center said Zhang’s laboratory was being renovated and closed for “security reasons.” It added that it provided Zhang’s team with alternative laboratory space.
But Zhang responded that his team was only offered an alternative after they were notified of their eviction, and the laboratory offered did not meet safety standards to conduct their research, leaving his team in limbo.
Zhang’s dispute with the host institution was the latest in a series of setbacks, demotions and dismissals since the virologist published the sequence in January 2020 without state approval.
Beijing has sought to control information related to the virus since it emerged. An Associated Press investigation found that the government froze national and international efforts to track him from the early weeks of the outbreak. Nowadays, laboratories are closed, collaborations are destroyed, foreign scientists are forced to leave and some Chinese researchers are prevented from leaving the country.
Zhang’s ordeal began when he and his team decoded the virus on January 5, 2020, and wrote an internal notice warning Chinese authorities about its potential for spread — but did not make the sequence public. The next day, Zhang’s laboratory was ordered to temporarily close by China’s top health official, and Zhang came under pressure from Chinese authorities.
Foreign scientists soon discovered that Zhang and other Chinese scientists had deciphered the virus and appealed to China to release the sequence. Zhang published it on January 11, 2020, despite the lack of permission from Chinese health authorities.
Sequencing a virus is essential for the development of test kits, disease control measures and vaccinations. The virus ended up spreading to every corner of the world, triggering a pandemic that disrupted lives and commerce, caused widespread lockdowns and killed millions of people.
Zhang has received awards abroad in recognition of his work. But Chinese health authorities removed Zhang from a position at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and banned him from collaborating with some of his former partners, hampering his investigation.
Still, Zhang maintains the support of some members of the government. Although some of Zhang’s online posts were deleted, his protest was widely reported in Chinese state-controlled media, indicating divisions within the Chinese government over how to deal with Zhang and his team.
“Thank you to my online followers and people from all walks of life for your concern and strong support over the past few days!” Zhang wrote in his post on Wednesday.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
