CNN’s Dr. Gupta: COVID Spread More Rapidly Than Viruses from Animals Usually Do

On Tuesday’s broadcast of CBS’ “Late Show,” CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta stated that when a virus jumps from animals to humans, “it kind of sputters along. It takes a while for it to sort of gain steam.” But with COVID-19, “this thing came out 90 miles an hour, and all of a sudden just started infecting wildly.”

Gupta stated that the origin of the virus needs to be investigated, adding, “The bioweapon part of it, I think most people don’t really think that that’s what happened. But the idea that this virus could have been studied in the lab, could have been increasingly exposed to human cells, and accidentally leaked out of the lab is a theory that I think is very worthy of investigation. There’s something else. Typically, when a virus jumps from animals to humans, it kind of sputters along. It takes a while for it to sort of gain steam. As was explained to me, this thing came out 90 miles an hour, and all of a sudden just started infecting wildly. Why? Well, if it had been studied in a lab and exposed to human cells, it was becoming more and more efficient. It was becoming smarter. At the time that it leaked, it was a huge problem.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett