Chinese scientist who first published COVID sequence protests after being locked out of his lab

By DAKE KANG
Associated Press

SHANGHAI (AP) — The first scientist to publish a sequence of the COVID-19 virus in China was staging a sit-in protest after authorities locked him out of his lab. Virologist Zhang Yongzhen wrote in an online post on Monday that he and his team were suddenly notified they were being evicted from their lab, the latest in a series of setbacks, demotions and ousters since he first published the sequence in early January 2020. The move shows how the Chinese state continues to pressure and control scientists, seeking to avoid scrutiny of its handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Zhang wrote the post on Chinese social media platform Weibo but it was later deleted.